


ERASED

by HypersomniacGrad



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Beca's sooo gonna try and save peeps, Crime Scenes, Erased AU, F/F, Murder and mystery, Some mentions of abuse, adaptation of ERASED, some of the characters are already dead at the beginning... BUT TIME TRAVEL!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2019-03-07 13:19:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 107,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13435533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HypersomniacGrad/pseuds/HypersomniacGrad
Summary: Beca Mitchell possesses an ability that sends her back in time moments before a life-threatening incident, allowing her to prevent them from happening. When her father is murdered, Beca's ability sends her back 10 years to when she was in high school, giving her the opportunity to prevent a kidnapping incident that took the lives of 3 people she knew, including the girl she liked.





	1. Before My Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate myself because I still have two ongoing fics but I just finished the anime and the live action version of the story this is based on and already buzzing with ideas… so here we are…
> 
> I'll try to update this every other night (something I think I can actually do considering I'm excited about it).
> 
> Anyways, the story is based on ERASED. If you know the series, I have to tell you that some of the major Pitch Perfect characters are already dead at the start of the series (again, I'm just being straightforward honest here) BUT… Beca does have this nifty ability as hinted by the summary and seen in this chapter. Dr. Mitchell actually plays a good chunk of a role in the story and I found ways to include Luke, Tom, Theo (PP3), and Chicago (PP3) in the story. It's originally set in 2007 (or the present timeline of the hero) and in 1988 (when the lead character is in grade school). Since it's an adaptation, I'm making a couple of significant changes and to throw confusion to those who've watched the anime/live action with who the kidnapper/killer is, I also invented other roles original in this fic. :P
> 
> Sorry for the long schpill. The fic will only be 15 chapters long with a mix of short and long chapters.
> 
> I don't own pitch perfect.

"This… this is amazing Beca." Theo said just after listening to the mix Beca brought in.

And it would have made Beca happy, excited even, this was the moment she's been working hard for after all. The goal she was striving towards all her life.

However, the lack of enthusiasm in Theo's tone makes Beca think there's a 'but' in there somewhere.

"But…" Theo then said.

_Ah, there it is._ Beca thought to herself as she sighed.  _I knew it._

"I just, I feel like there's something missing." Theo went on. "I knew from the moment I heard you play at the club that you're pretty good. But I also had this feeling then, like you're too afraid of losing yourself to the music. I hear pretty sick beats but I can't seem to grasp who you are, you know? Who the person who made this is, their identity. Like your heart isn't in it."

"Thanks for your time, I guess." Beca then said, defeated. She's had a steady two night gig as a DJ at small blink-and-you-miss-it, hole-in-the-wall club in Atlanta hoping it could lead to her big break in becoming a music producer herself. It was pure chance that the Theo guy sitting across the desk to her just so happened to be one who was working as a music producer for a big label company and gave her his card after hearing her set a few weeks ago.

To those blind to the obvious, this was the big break she's been waiting for since forever.

And right then, it felt like her dreams had been dashed.

"Come back when you find it, that missing piece of your sound, okay? Don't be afraid to dig deep to find it!" Theo then said. It was a nice surprise to hear. A tiny bit of hope.

Something that Beca wasn't exactly holding onto, but oh well.

She could keep trying and hopefully she won't exhaust the guy who wants to give her the break she deserves to get into the industry.

The rest of the day went on it usual dreary pace leaving Beca to contemplate her next move.

She was working hard on the mix she had given to Theo, but apparently it just wasn't enough.

Music has been her life. It's her escape. It's where she finds herself.

It's supposed to tell people who she was. And truth be told, Beca thought it already did.

But apparently that's not the case.

So how does she find that missing piece she never thought was missing in the first place?

"Yo, Mitchell, you listening? You and future Mrs. Allen both have orders for delivery!" Bumper called out, snapping Beca back to the present.

"Bumper, it's never going to happen. Okay? You need to stop it or the air in here is just always going to smell like the fresh smell of your desperation." Amy replied in a rather calm but know it all tone that always gets Beca to chuckle.

She and Amy both make it out of the waiting room of  _Oasis Pizza_. The restaurant's pretty decent and highly frequented by students from a nearby school district. Bumper Allen was the manager, he was the son of the owner after all. He's okay, a whole lot of obnoxious on most days but he leaves Beca alone for the most part. Really. It's Amy he goes after. From what Beca could tell, the two sort of have this thing going on. Serious for Bumper, not really for Amy.

Amy was different though. She's her self-proclaimed best friend despite Beca never really talking much to her.

Well, technically Amy always talks to her, she just drifts off on most days to think about whatever mix she's working on.

The two of them were both delivery riders for the store. It was a nice side gig during the day to help her pay the bills so she wouldn't need to depend so much on her dad who still thinks she should have gone to college. At night it was mostly finding other DJ gigs other than her steady one or making mixes.

"Don't eat the pizza on your way to the house Shorty!" Amy called out as they both hopped on their respective motorbikes.

"I don't get it." Beca replied looking at Amy confused at why she would tell her such a thing.

But Amy simply laughed in response before heading her own way.

Beca rode on towards a different direction. Her mind partly wondering as she saw the busy streets. Having rained the other night, Beca tried to avoid some of the puddles that formed on rocky narrow streets she took as short cuts before going on the main roads. She grumbled on herself for the idiots who kept trying to cross streets when the lights haven't changed at an intersection. Granted the streets weren't as busy as Beca would expect. As she went on her way, she's only seen a few cars and a delivery truck.

Nothing much of great interest for a supposedly busy city. She just watched the same old scenery one can expect in the city as she tried to wrack her brains to find a way to 'dig deeper'.

And then…

…it happened.

Beca found herself having just turned from the narrow street she takes as a short cut and once again on the main road.

_A Revival… right now?_ Beca asked herself as she kept a keen eye on her surroundings.

It wasn't the first time it happened to her, this thing she decided to call a 'Revival'. Usually, it occurs when something bad was about to happen. A force of some sort brings her back between one to five minutes before the event. She would keep an eye out for something out of the ordinary and when she finds it, she tries to prevent it from happening.

_So what was it? What did I miss the first time?_

Beca was vigilant for anything she could have missed the first time she lived this moment until her eyes landed on the truck that she had passed by and saw the driver passed out on the wheel just as it drove past her.

Without wasting any second, Beca turned her bike around and sped down the same direction of the truck. "Hey! Hey dude, wake up!" Beca yelled, slamming on driver's side of the truck, hoping the driver would her hear through the halfway opened windows.

But alas, no response.

Looking ahead, Beca saw some kid, probably around twelve or thirteen, about to cross the street as the she and the truck approached the crossing at a dangerously fast speed. "Kid get out!" Beca yelled as she tried to reach for the wheel inside of the truck, maneuvering herself so that she could reach it and turn the wheel at a different direction. It did the trick, at least in making the poor boy jump out of the way just as she switched the direction of the truck towards some alleyway filled with nothing but dumpsters for the truck to safely crash into.

However, Beca was a bit late in turning her attention to what was in front of her and she ended up crashing into a car head on. She found herself flying over the hood, crashing on top of the roof before she passed out.

The next thing Beca knew she was in a dream-like state, remembering images of her mom who died when she was young… of her father who always worked and was never there… of this redheaded girl standing all alone in the middle of a snowy playground, wearing a red coat…

_Is this… Ah, I guess this happens when you die… your life really does flash before your eyes._

Afraid of what to find before her when she started to become aware of the soft white sheets she laid upon, Beca took her time in opening her eyes.

When she did, she found a surprising sight.

Amy sitting by the chair next to her on a bed.

"Ah, Short-stack! You're awake!" she exclaimed.

"What?" was Beca's response.

"Do you remember your name? Age? Do you know where you are? You're probably not sure of the last one, but you're in the hospital." Amy went on.

"My name's Beca Mitchell. I'm twenty six. Amy, what happened?" Beca then asked.

"Oh, you hit your head pretty bad. You've been asleep for a day." Amy replied. "Lucky you, I was there Beca. Didn't know you're so heroic either. You saved that kid's life!" she went on. "I was passing by the other side, on my way back, when I saw what you did. A lot of people could have gotten hurt. Apparently the driver of the delivery truck had a heart attack while driving and died on the wheel."

Beca listened to Amy, this time a forcing a smile on her face. Usually when a Revival happens, she manages to turn a negative to something more neutral. Sometimes, she ends up getting hurt bad like this time.

Other times, someone gets to witness what she does and she's called a hero.

She finds it annoying but she was trying to be polite to Amy about it. She did inadvertently help her with the mess for the undelivered pizza and medical costs the management offered to pay for – or so Amy claimed – thanks to witnessing the whole thing.

"So, anyone you'd want me to call for you shorty?" Amy then asked.

"Hmm? No one worth bothering for me." Beca then replied.

"You sure shorty? No boyfriend? Girlfriend? Any friend at all?"

Beca tried not grumbling, she felt like Amy was prying a bit but then again she was there, without anyone asking.

"You're all the friend I need." she replied dryly, trying her best to be nice.

"Ah, well, I am a handful." Amy then replied. "If all's good then I should get to work." she then said. "Have a good rest shorty!"

"Thanks." Beca replied as she was left to her thoughts in the peace and quiet of her hospital room.

It only took another day before she was of everything and was finally allowed to go home to yet another surprise, because apparently waking up to Amy at her bedside wasn't enough of a surprise.

Her apartment door had been unlocked. Beca was ready to just call the police but stopped short when she picked up the familiar scent of her father's specialty of barbecue ribs.

Stepping inside the apartment she finds her father moving about the kitchen. "How did you even get here old man?"

"You were in an accident. Your landlady was informed by a work mate and she called me…" her father replied sounding a little bit hurt.

"She let you in?" Beca then asked.

"Obviously." he replied as he continued his work in the kitchen, hurt evident in his tone. "I was thinking of staying for a while. My daughter got into an accident after all."

"Oh yippee, good for you. Father of the year material right over there." Beca deadpanned as she settled on the couch. "It's a one bedroom. You have no room here."

"I'll sleep on the couch. Besides, I did pay your security deposits in the past, remember? And I'm making you dinner. I think that entitles me to a bit of hospitality from you." he replied with a sense of finality in his tone.

And Beca grumbled.

_Great,_ Beca thought, t _his might be the worst Revival yet._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I basically just used this chapter to set-up Beca's ability. The next chapter's also still setting main events, so it should be uploaded shortly.
> 
> On that note, who do you guys think died? That's gonna be revealed in the next chapter but I thought I might let the first few readers guess. :P
> 
> That said, for those tuning in to my Your Lie in April AU, it will be updated tomorrow come what may!
> 
> UPNEXT: Dr. Mitchell gets murdered (I mean, this bit is in the summary...)! A dark past! A set-up! And a culprit still on the loose after all these years!


	2. The Ten Year Revival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca's father brings back a terrible past event pushing Beca into looking into the past. Meanwhile, she experiences a Revival but can't figure out what was wrong. With her mind preoccupied with the two separate events, Beca finds herself stumbling upon a crime scene set-up to look like she was the guilty party. In a desperate attempt to right what had happened, Beca ends up triggering her Revival and ends up further back in time than she had imagined she would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter two! Yey! I'll try to get the next one uploaded by tomorrow.
> 
> You guys are gonna hate me a bit in this chapter… I apologize in advance… 
> 
> Warning: Murder! An actual scene plus some old cases and mentions of how the victims were found.
> 
> Reviews and comments are always appreciated. Let me know your theories too as we move forward with the story. ;)
> 
> I don't own pitch perfect.

It was late at night when Beca woke up again. She wanted to hate having her father at her apartment for a couple of days, she really did, but after the good food he made for dinner she enjoyed in silence – because no, she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of making him happy for taking care of her now after all the years he was always too busy for her – she found complaining to be too hard to do.

Her father was still awake on the couch, tuned into the news, as Beca walked out her room to head to the bathroom. "Did I wake you up?" he asked.

"Nope." Beca replied, minding her own business, doing her best to ignore him.

But it was kind of hard to ignore someone who was sighing loudly, doing his best to have his presence known.

"What?" Beca then asked, stopping herself a few steps away from the bathroom.

"Do you remember what happened then?" his father replied.

"What do you mean?" Beca asked, before turning her attention to the news report of a kidnapping incident downtown. Apparently some high school teen was abducted a few nights before.

Beca waited but her father, a man of words – or at least Beca would assume him to be, being an English Lit professor and all – wasn't exactly too keen on expounding upon what he had said.

"We did our best, you know? To make you forget… we just didn't want you kids to be taking that kind of thing with you forever. You were all in real danger then."

Beca looked at him curiously but held back at giving a reply. She was still confused about what he said but somehow, something about was stirring emotions deep within her, emotions she buried deep within her.

She fell asleep still thinking about what he had meant by that only to find herself waking up with tears in her eyes. "No!" she yelled, her arms reaching out to nothing but thin air as she opened her eyes.

 _Right… back then…_  Beca thought as she took her time from getting out of bed. It was about noon. She was still off duty for work at the restaurant, with her boss wanting her to take it easy the next few days and recuperate well, so she wasn't really in a rush either.

Besides, her DJ gig wasn't until the next night too.

Her father was already gone when Beca woke up with a plate for breakfast already waiting for her in the microwave. Her head still felt like it was messed up as she dreamed about something she had long forgotten.

Grabbing her laptop as she ate breakfast, she looked up a name long buried in her past.

_Benji Applebaum_

With not much effort, articles after articles had popped up, especially with the intricacies of his case. After being found guilty of three abduction cases and brutal murders of high school students in their hometown, Benji was sentenced and was currently on death row.

The investigations lasted for a whole year and a half, with so many confounding variables complicating things. After the last of the three victims were found, evidences that pointed to Benji led to his arrest.

And after all these years, he kept fighting, seeking legal counsel, fighting for his innocence.

Even until now, he maintains the same stance.

That he was innocent.

Beca could remember only too well the initial shock that had taken over her when they found out it was him. He was older than they were, a bit of a nerdy kid so he was often left alone. He had this weird stutter and this hobby with preforming magic tricks that made some of the guys at school make fun of him but he was overall a good guy. He'd talk to kids he'd find alone, even those in the middle school nearby, and encourage them to make friends. He'd talk to girls who were alone at night and keep them company to make sure that they were safe.

Things that were turned against him.

Beca always found him endearing. She never had much friends back then, not really willing to open up much to people around her. But there was something in the way that Benji would encourage her, when she found her alone, even setting him up to hang out with Jesse, one of the well liked kids in school so that she wouldn't be too alone. She did find her own group, despite being more of a wall flower sticking out, but it made high school bearable enough.

That's why she found herself crying for him when he got arrested.

She fought hard as she tried to convince her dad that he was innocent. Jesse had been too shocked too, that he didn't do much to budge. She had even tried going to the police to convince them he was innocent, a futile effort in the end.

And soon Beca caved.

She caved under the weight of her loses then.

Under the weight of the thought that she could have done something to help them, to save them.

But she couldn't trigger her Revivals back then.

She scrolled down the current article she had been reading with the pictures of the victims. The first one had to have been her too…

It had to have been Chloe Beale.

Beca could remember the redheaded girl, so pretty and bubbly when they were much younger. Something changed though when they were in high school, and she became more reserved. She was sometimes seen with one of the guys form the hockey team but no one was ever really sure if they were dating the entire time or not, some people say they dated but only briefly.

Beca remembered the night before her disappearance. It was early February with the snow blanketing the ground. She was walking home from a party Jesse had dragged her to go to when she passed by the playground and she saw Chloe just standing there all alone. She always liked her, she was kind and nice and would smile a lot at Beca when they ran into each other. Beca very much wanted to call out to her that night, talk to her, but she just couldn't muster up the courage to do so.

So she walked away.

And the next day, Chloe disappeared.

Her body was found a month later at one of the cold storage units at the Applebaum's food service company.

Beca really didn't know the second victim much, some girl studying in a nearby high school named Aubrey Posen. They never found her body.

But the third victim was one of her high school friends, Florencia Fuentes. They called her Flo for short. What Beca hated the most about Flo's case was that her body was found at the place Jesse used to dub their secret hide out, an old abandoned storage space near the lighthouse in town where they usually hung out. It had been a full year since Chloe's disappearance when Flo disappeared, and the group had stopped going there because of what happened to both Chloe and Aubrey. But what if they hadn't? Could they have saved Flo then too?

The thought of all of it made her sick if she was being honest.

And she wished she could just go back to forgetting it.

Because even after all this years, it still hurt.

It still stung.

Beca decided to go for a walk the rest of the day, which wasn't exactly the brightest of ideas as she soon found out. She was barely one foot out of their apartment complex when her father spotted her and insisted she go with him at the nearby supermarket.

She hated that the promise of good food got her to agree.

"Do you really have to buy this much?" Beca complained after their bit of shopping spree, carrying two out of the eight bags as they headed to her father's car.

"They were on sale, so why not?" Dr. Mitchell replied.

"Beca!" Amy then called out from the opposite side of the parking lot before running over to meet them. "Nice seeing you up and about! Who's the silver fox?"

"Eww, Amy…" Beca replied with great disgust in her tone much to her father's amusement.

"I'm Beca's father." he then replied.

"Oh, I thought you're her older brother or something. Looking good Mr. Mitchell."

"Thank you. And you are… Amy I believe, based on Beca's initial response."

"Yes, very perceptive of you!" Amy replied, impressed.

"He's just pointing out the obvious." Beca then grumbled. "Besides, he's a lit prof. PhD and everything. He also helps some of his old buddies with crime cases. One of 'em used to be a detective and the other a journalist, right old man?"

Dr. Mitchell chuckled in response before…

"They were on sale, so why not?" Dr. Mitchell replied as Beca found herself walking out of the supermarket with her father yet again.

 _A Revival! But what's wrong?_ Beca thought to herself as she found herself scrambling to look around. Everything seemed so normal the first time around things happened.

"Beca, what's wrong?" Dr. Mitchell then asked as she kept circling about.

"Uh, nothing, just… hey old man, can you look around and see if anything's wrong or out of the ordinary?"

"Okay, but why?" Dr. Mitchell asked but nevertheless replied.

"Just a gut feeling." Beca replied before she saw Amy heading over, calling her.

"The old man is my father. And nice to see you too Amy." Beca mumbled as a greeting as she looked around.

"What's going on with you Beca?" Amy asked, incredibly curious but Beca decided not to respond to her for a moment, turning to her father instead.

Dr. Mitchell was on his phone, a serious and contemplative look on his face before turning to Beca and giving a shrug. "Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary Beca." he said in a tone that Beca knew all too well. The tone he adopts when he was lying.

But before she could even say anything her father had managed to stir away the conversation to what had happened and into inviting Amy for dinner who happily agreed.

They had curry for dinner, an actual flow for conversation – thanks to Amy mostly – and an actual bearable atmosphere at home.

Once Amy left, Beca couldn't help but still think about the Revival. Since it didn't happen again, she guessed that her little actions at that time had been enough, but something was still bugging her about it. "Say old man…"

"Beca, I'm your father." Dr. Mitchell interjected, making Beca think back to Jesse and his insistence of giving Beca a movie-cation for once in about a decade.

She let out a chuckle. "No. You keep saying that and I call you Darth Vader." she replied. "What happened at the parking lot?"

"You mean what was wrong?" Dr. Mitchell replied.

"Clearly I'm asking this question because I need to figure out what was right." Beca sarcastically replied. "Of course, that!"

"An attempted kidnapping." Dr. Mitchell then said in a serious tone that made Beca feel on edge before he sighed and smiled. "I'm just kidding of course." he went on. "Didn't really see much of anything."

Beca simply gave him a death glare – always so ineffective on him but she just had to try – before giving up and going to bed.

The Revival worked.

But she knew he had been serious. He would only say he's kidding when he was trying hard to convince Beca what he said before wasn't true.

But Beca was wiser than that.

The next day was spent at the public library. Something about the whole parking lot still felt wrong so she wanted to do a bit of research. She wasn't really sure where to start but she figured that the library was a place to start. She had her laptop with her and old archives in case she needed to dig a bit deeper about the whole kidnapping thing.

She wanted to go back to what had happened in her youth and compare it to what was happening now.

And she wanted to see if similar things have happened in the past.

Because… because what if Benji was telling the truth? What if he was innocent?

Beca still had a chance to save him even after she failed to save Chloe, Aubrey, and Flo.

She went home just before dinner to get ready for her DJ gig, her mind still on the case. She was already annoyed that some guy in a suit bumped into her as she went up the stairs to the second floor when she found her apartment door being left open.

A curious sight. If her father wasn't staying with her, she'd have thought she was just robbed. But there was no scratch marks on her door so she ruled robbery out.

"Yo, old man?" Beca called out stepping in to find her father's copy of the keys and a piece of paper on the dining table. "You really shouldn't leave the door unlocked. I know you sometimes do that back home, but it's just not safe in the city. Old ma-…" she went on, turning to head towards the kitchen only to find the pool of blood creeping toward past what the kitchen counter hid.

Beca rushed to where it was only to find her father bleeding out. She didn't see him initially thanks to how the stupid counter was positioned. "Dad!" Beca called out, seeing the knife used to stab him sticking out from his back. "Dad! Hey! Wake up! Come on! Tell me, you're okay! Dad!" Beca started yelling as she ran towards him, trying to see if he would budge.

But he was already cold.

He was already dead.

"No…" Beca found herself saying, standing up and walking a few steps away from his body before collapsing to the ground.

 _No, no, no…_ Beca thought to herself, looking at the blood on her hand as tears started to stream down her cheeks.

"Beca, everything okay, I heard…" one of her neighbors said as he knocked on Beca's door only to see Beca's bloody hands.

"No, it's…" Beca started to say as it clicked in her head what her neighbor might thing what happened.

But he was out the door in minutes.

Beca tried to wrack her brains for her next move before remembering the man she ran into.

He was wearing a crisp black suit and some type of hat angled down to cast a shadow on his face. Beca was pretty sure it was none of her neighbors, most of them were college kids or fresh grads who didn't even own fine formal wear.

 _Could it be…?_ Beca thought.

And she could seat around and try and figure out if the person who killed her father was that man but if she doesn't move and he was the guilty party, then he might get away.

So Beca pulled herself together and ran down the stairs and out their complex. She searched the streets for any sign of this man when she noticed the red and blue lights of a police car heading towards their building.

Beca looked down to find her bloodied hands yet again.  _Crap!_ she thought, realizing her mistakes only now.

Overwhelmed by her initial reaction, she rushed towards her father. Her prints would be everywhere, including his body. Given, her prints  _would_ be everywhere because it's her apartment. But with her bloodied hands and all…

_He set me up!_

Without much of a thought Beca found herself running away. Past a crowd of shocked and curious onlookers, and through narrow alleyways until she was cornered at a dead end.

Never being much of an athlete, Beca was sure that any of the responding officers who spotted her would be close behind her.

 _Damn it! Come on! Come on!_ Beca thought, closing her eyes shut.

Her Revivals typically happened on their own, so she knew this would be a long shot, but more than any other time, this was the one moment where she wished she could trigger it on her own.

And just as she started to hear the sound of a police car nearby, and of officers running around the corner, everything faded into black.

 _Ugh, where am I?_ Beca asked herself when she suddenly realized her body was aching all over with some cold feeling beneath her.

When she opened her eyes, all Beca could see were gray skies and falling snow. Beca sat up, trying to take into account everything around her.

"Come on Mitchell, what're you doing there sitting down? Get up or you'll be late!" she heard some tall brunette who was running say to her.

_Wait, that's…_

Beca's vision followed the direction of where she was running to, her jaw dropping when she saw the huge banner hanging by the brick building congratulating Barden High's ice hockey team for their latest win.

And just like that, Beca went back to ten years ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO… off the top of your head, who do you think killed Dr. Mitchell?
> 
> Also, sorry. I did mention some of the characters are already dead and I thought the flash of Chloe in Beca's memory was a good indication that she might be one of the victims… but then I had to throw in Aubrey too… Flo was an odd choice, I admit, but it works better than Stacie. I need her and Jesse for specific roles, and Emily pops up towards the end of the story.
> 
> UPNEXT: We meet Jesse! And Stacie! And Denise! And Cynthia Rose! And Flo! And Chloe! We also meet a few others ;)
> 
> I admit it's an odd sort of grouping…


	3. Lost Time Regained

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca finds herself ten years back into the past. Confused as to why she was sent back, Beca tries to piece together what little information she knows to figure out what she must do to prevent her father's murder from happening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, thanks for the support so far! As promised here is chapter 3 of the Bechloe ERASED AU featuring a chance to fix the past and the introduction of significant characters! Sorry if it took a while to get to this point. Needed to set up things after all.
> 
> Sorry if we only get a glimpse of Chloe here. The next chapter centers around her though.
> 
> Reviews and comments are always appreciated. Sound off in the comments section who you think is the killer/kidnapper, I'd love to hear your theories!
> 
> I don't own pitch perfect.

It was probably the strangest case of déjà vu for Beca. She wasn't exactly the sentimental type, and truth be told reliving her high school days wasn't her top priority either.

She stood in front of the trophy case for a good few minutes or two after making her way through the old familiar halls of the place she had affectionately called her prison during her teenage years after having caught her reflection on the glass case. The thick eyeliners, the headphones hanging on her neck, all the ear piercings, down to the combat boots she was wearing, yeah, she dressed like a kid with a rebellious streak. Once in a while she'd pretend to be sick so she could skip on classes, particularly math, but Beca more or less kept a low profile.

Having her dad in the principal's office was never really part of her plans, especially since he offered he would support her in her pursuit of her dreams if she makes it through high school without going through detention once.

Something that seemed entirely impossible granted that she cut classes a lot back in middle school.

It was winter. That much was clear from the snow on the ground.  _Right, I forgot we had an unholy amount of snow the year the disappearances started._ Beca thought to herself as she tried to figure out her bearings.

She was back to ten years ago, but to when exactly was still unclear. Asking anyone shouldn't be too hard, except Beca rarely talked to people other than in the group that sort of just included her. Besides, it would sound pretty weird if she just goes ahead and blurts out her question.

But more than that, Beca needed to figure out where she was going as the alarm rung, indicating first period.

Beca turned to leave, bumping into some guy she didn't notice walking past her to her right. She ended up knocking down the box she was carrying containing some poorly made diorama for some classes he was undoubtedly taking. "Watch it, Mitchell!" she heard him say as he picked it off the floor.

 _I know this kid…_ Beca thought to herself as she eyed the jacket he wore. It was for the hockey team.

"Sorry about that Tom, Beca's all confused. She slipped on the ice earlier and hit her head." Stacie then said as she came to her rescue. Tom simply grumbled as he rushed to where he needed to be.

 _Right, Tom… He was…_ Beca went on as flashes of her memories of the first time she lived this time popped into her head. Tom was Chloe's sort of off again, on again boyfriend. He was like a lovesick puppy always following her around before, at least until about six months before she disappeared.

He'd still hang out with Chloe once in a while but Chloe seemed to be pushing him away for some reason.

He's not too bad of a character. Typical jock really. He wasn't exactly the brightest of students either but he was most definitely trying.

_But it's still not clear if I made it back before the start of the incident or not…_

"Seriously, Beca, you okay?" Stacie asked as soon as he left. "Hey, earth to Beca? Are you still with me?"

"Hmm, yeah, right sorry." Beca mumbled as a response.

"Come on, seriously. We're gonna be late." Stacie then replied, pulling Beca along the hallways as they headed to their first period class together, or so it seemed.

_Wait… what classes did I have with Stacie in this time again?_

Beca soon found herself in homeroom with Stacie. "Beca, do you have a concussion or something?" she heard Stacie whispering to her after first getting mixed up with where she sat. She had forgotten she was supposed to seat in the middle back in front of Stacie who was on the last row and next to Denise, probably the only person in her year she actually had all her classes with. She was looking at her strangely after Beca's attempt to steal Jesse's seat by the door, something he seemed to take in good nature as he pointed out where her seat was supposed to be.

But Jesse had always just been like that. He probably chucked it off to Beca being her ever moody, distracted self.

"Ugh, I can't believe we're getting make up classes." she then heard Flo say before taking her seat next to Jesse.

It took Beca a minute or two to completely register what Flo had said, but Beca couldn't really blame herself for it. Just seeing Flo again, knowing she was still alive in this time and hearing her voice, it felt like seeing a ghost. If seeing a ghost was ever a good thing.

And Beca never thought she'd ever feel the way she did then, that she would admit to herself that she actually missed Flo's quirky anecdotes and strange comments. But apparently she did and it was enough to give her hope.

If Flo was still alive then maybe she wasn't too late yet.

"Make up classes?" Beca then asked, incredibly confused as she turned around to face Stacie.

"We've had too many snow days, Mitchell. It's already bad that there's still snow outside but we now have to come in Saturdays for make-up classes." Stacie said matter-of -factly.

If Beca was in the right state of her high school self's mind, she would have complained as well.

But things were starting to click, she was starting to figure out when she was.

They had make up classes January of the spring semester when Chloe disappeared. It was still early January but they missed two days from their first week back after the winter holidays and another four days the following week because of the stupid snow storms that kept hitting them. Sure, they only had a few inches to a feet, but their town wasn't exactly well equipped to handle that.

"What's wrong with Mitchell? We literally got a circular note about this yesterday?" Cynthia Rose then asked, yet another one of her friends in high school.

If 'friends' was ever the actual proper term. They were just people she hung out with. Benji always tried to push Beca, and others like her, to try and make friends. " _Sometimes you just need to follow how those popular kids act, you know. Not in the mean bad ways but in trying to show something that other people admired."_  was what Benji technically said.

Not exactly what Beca did though…

Jesse liked movies and Beca hated it but he had always been so nice and friendly that Beca would try to be like him a bit. Be as nice as he was with her, or understanding.

Stacie was smart despite people not exactly seeing it immediately, she was flirty and friendly, but she's got a sense of conviction to always stick by her friends. She also liked music a lot so Beca thought she wasn't so bad.

Beca always admired that conviction so every once and a while she'd stand up for people who needed her help. Case in point, she became friends with Stacie by punching a guy in Benji's year who tried to feel her up at a party Jesse dragged her to ages ago.

There's Flo who was the new kid just last year and who took most of the same classes Jesse did then.

And of course there's the ever sensible Cynthia Rose who was always hanging out with Stacie. Beca admired the way she'd keep her cool in situations or whenever she's under pressure, something she wasn't exactly the master of but lately she'd been adopting that kind of level-headedness as she tried to stay out of trouble.

"I hit my head." Beca mumbled off as a response before turning her attention back to the front of the room as their homeroom teacher arrived.

"Sorry I'm late everyone, you know how it is sometimes." Luke then said as he tried to get everyone to settle down.

_Ah, yes, and then there's that guy… almost forgot about him._

Luke Westfield. He was a young British man who handled their music class and helmed the theater club. Being too 'cool' and all and wanting to connect to his students better to help them excel in academics. Hence they just call him Luke when they run into each other, or Sir Luke whenever they're on school grounds. He hated being called Mr. Westfield.

Beca remembered how Luke had been quite distraught after losing two of his students the first time she lived through these events and how he soldiered on to help and talk to his students feeling the same way. Beca found herself talking to him a lot as she processed her own thoughts and feelings, not really too keen on spending time to talk with the school guidance councilor who had been undoubtedly busy as well. It just felt easier and normal for her to talk to Luke then, a little less official in a sense compared to talking to their guidance councilor. 

There was the fact that Luke was her favorite teacher too in that he was the only one Beca didn't hate with a passion.

The rest of homeroom had pretty much zoning out. Her mind still pretty much on her last memory.

Not that of her high school day but of her life years after.

The memory of her father's murder.

She was cornered and set-up with a crime she never did. She wanted to trigger her Revival and it did, but why send her ten years back?

_Think Mitchell, think._

Her father was killed for a reason. But what reason could it have been? He's not exactly one who makes enemies.

_Wait a minute… he was on his phone at the supermarket parking lot the day before. It sounded like he took a picture of something. And he said…_

Beca did her best at the moment not to jolt right up, remembering she was sitting in a classroom filled with students and her homeroom teacher. Grasping the edge of her table, she settled herself down and tried to pass her initial reaction as just her trying to sit more comfortably in her chair.

Her father mentioned something about an attempted kidnapping that night, and the night before the same thing was on the news about some girl missing for a few days already. What if her father saw the kidnapper and recognized him?

What if it was that man in the suit she ran into that night of his murder?

And the fact that Beca had been set-up, it was something wholly familiar to Benji's case, wouldn't it be?

So what if… what if the key from stopping her father's murder was to stop the cases that happened when she was in high school, that's why she was sent this further back in time? What if it was all connected?

What if it was the same person behind everything?

All the feelings of regret that Beca had felt before, the feelings of helplessness came rushing back to her. The first of her Revival incidents only happened a year after Benji was arrested. What if it was the same sentiments that triggered it then, her sentiments of not being able to do anything?

But now, now she does.

_I have to stop it._

_I have to save them._

_Somehow, someway._

With a quick check on the phone she remembered she actually had – still a flip phone much to her amusement – she figured out the date to be the 16th of January. For the last six months or so, Chloe, the first victim, would cut classes, come in late, or miss out on full days themselves, typically at the beginning of the week, so her disappearance wasn't reported until the 6th of February when Tom approached their guidance councilor about concerns that he couldn't reach Chloe and that her step-mom couldn't figure out where she was either. The last night Beca saw her was the night of the party she didn't even want to go to, which was the Saturday of the week before, the 2nd of February.

_Which meant she was abducted somewhere between the 2_ _nd_ _and the 6_ _th_ _… I need to figure out the exact day it happened. I need to figure out what 'X' day is._

Beca's mind was on the case for most of the day as she went through the motions of the everyday life that had passed her by ages ago. It was her mindless walking through the halls that led her to her first sight of Chloe.

Beca found herself standing still as the bell once again rung. She wasn't even sure which class to go next to, pretty much just keeping tabs on Denise and where she was headed. Her mind was still trying to get everything set, after all. If she was going to try and solve a case that happened ten years ago in her mind. then she needed to clear her head and focus. She didn't exactly have that much time either.

But seeing Chloe made her forget all that again.

It was like all the feelings she had associated to the redhead came surfacing back up and in full force too.

Chloe Beale had always been a sweet and kind person. She always smiled at you when you walk pass her, always says hi, always tries.

But then her father died, leaving her behind with her step-mom.

Beca remembers Chloe all too well, hating her own inept self or pushing her away the first time she tried reaching out to her when they were kids. Chloe had lost her mother a year before Beca did, so if anyone knew what was going on with her, it would be Chloe. She wanted to comfort her and console her but Beca shut herself out of the world then.

And when the time came that Chloe's dad died from a car accident, she seemed to have done the same thing.

At first people thought she was just shutting herself out of the world, dealing with her loss in her own way.

But then she started missing classes, she started coming in late, she started missing actual days at a time, always at the beginning of the week too – at least Beca was fixated at that thought, a part of her feeling it was something important.

Just to see Chloe again though…

She wasn't as cheerful as she used to be but she was most definitely as breathtakingly beautiful as Beca remembered. She was currently talking to their guidance councilor, a young man named Chicago Walp, as it would seem that Chloe missed her first classes of the day yet again.

Beca didn't really have much of an opinion on Mr. Walp. He was strict but nice to the students. Since he and Luke were both the youngest members of the school faculty and staff, they seem to spend a lot of time together, like they were drinking buddies or something. Like Luke, he always tried his best to connect to the students to help them the best he could. He would greet them in the hallway when they run into him, and he did let Beca get out of trouble that one time she was late, so he wasn't that bad exactly.

Beca felt herself get all flustered when Chloe turned to catch her staring like an idiot after Mr. Walp returned to his office. Thankfully, Jesse came to her rescue to pull her into the right direction of where her next class would be.

"Stacie's right. You're acting a bit too weird than your usual self today Beca." Jesse said, before taking notice of Chloe looking at them curiously. She looked away and headed toward the direction the restrooms thankfully not saying anything about Beca practically gawking at her.

The same could not be said about Jesse, however, who most definitely noticed her flushed cheeks and her awkward fidgeting as she mumbled some sort of incoherent response.

Jesse simply smiled. "I think I get it, Beca. Don't worry, you'll have our help." he then said with a grin. "But for now, we have biology, so come on Mitchell. Let's go."

Beca let Jesse drag her on to her next class, as she frantically tried to search for Chloe's face in the quickly thinning crowd of students making their way to their own destinations. Her thought was simply on one thing.

She had more or less to weeks to come up with a plan and act on it. She had no time to waste.

She was given a second chance to do something about the incident that left her devastated, the incident she buried deep within her mind as she tried to forget.

But now her mind was made up along with her resolve.

_I'll save_ _**you** _ _. No matter what. I won't let_ _**it** _ _happen again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if it's still a bit short, but I needed to introduce the characters properly and decided to use this chapters to give a bit of an idea to who's who and what Beca thought of them.
> 
> BTW, a good half of this fic is just in Beca's POV. We'll get other POV's somewhere after the halfway point after a significant event happens.
> 
> Chapter 4 will be up by tomorrow night ;)
> 
> UPNEXT: Beca needs to figure out when 'X' time is – the date and time that Chloe gets abducted; she also needs to summon the courage to befriend Chloe who somehow always makes her feel a little nervous; Beca also starts to conduct her investigations to figure out what's going on!


	4. A Dark Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca decides that befriending Chloe Beale, the first of the three victims, will help her protect her and save her from the gruesome fate that awaits her. As she struggles to figure out how to approach her former - and apparently still current - crush, Beca stumbles upon a different secret that makes her want to help Chloe even more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, chapter 4! Sorry for the delay, I got derailed and preoccupied with other things :P. Beca's basically going to start doing solo freelance detective work.
> 
> This chapter mostly focuses on Chloe, a conversation with Tom, and Beca trying to initiate a friendship with Chloe.
> 
> Warning: mentions and signs of abuse; no actual scene but still…

It was a blessing and a curse. Mostly Beca thought that her ability was just a curse. Something that manifested after the worst of the worst had happened.

A curse that more often than not led Beca to a bandaged arm or a broken leg or a concussion.

But this time, this time she knew she this gift was a blessing.

And she was going to use every precious second of it not letting the tiniest moments go to waste. As a matter of fact, she got started on it last night when she found herself incredibly emotional seeing her father again. To him, it had only been a few hours since he left for work, but to Beca…

Oh to Beca…

To Beca, it felt like a lifetime. It felt like the impossible had happened and life had been restored to the dead. In a way, seeing Flo and getting a glimpse of Chloe earlier had proven that already.

But her father's death in a timeline of great disaster had been the freshest wound. So, during her first night in this timeline, Beca let herself complement his cooking for dinner, asked if he wanted coffee while grading essays for his class, all while her father curiously watched and tried to figure out what she wanted.

Truth is, Beca wanted nothing else, just keep all of them safe.

And maybe that was the reason why she found herself storming into the locker room of the boy's ice hockey team for their school the next afternoon instead of doing anything else.

Beca remembered that morning quite vividly after all.

One of her first classes of the day had been with Luke. Music class.

And it just so happened to be the class she shared with Chloe.

It also happened to be yet another period she gets to spend with all her so-called friends.

Beca had been keeping her eyes on the door the entire time, getting to class especially early to keep an eye out on Chloe. She really didn't have much of a chance to approach her the other day, not that she had any ideas what to come and say to her.

Beca only knew three things then. One, she needed to save Chloe, the first of the victims. Two, to do that, she needed to at least befriend her, make sure she wasn't alone or with people of questionable intensions. Three, Chloe's been pushing people away more and more since her father's death about eight months ago – more or less, Beca was a bit fuzzy on the exact length of time.

"What's Mitchell doing?" she had heard Cynthia Rose whisper to Jesse and in turn Jesse simply grinned. She could hear her friends talk among themselves in hushed tones, Beca not really paying them much attention then, as Beca shifted her attention back forth between the clock in the room and the doorway. Luke had already entered trying to get all his students' attention when Chloe walked in.

They both sat at the back row with Chloe sitting on a row in front of her to her right. She was wearing the red coat she was wearing in Beca's last memory of her before her original disappearance and a woven wool dress underneath with a hem just above her knees. Beca kept her eyes on her, lost in thought.

Because of course it was that moment when Beca had remembered the fourth thing she knew without a shadow of a doubt years ago in her original timeline.

That she liked Chloe.

Totally had a massive crush on her that she mostly kept to herself. High school was hell back then, it could have been worse if her little crush had gotten out as public knowledge.

 _Not that it didn't end up worse than hell the first time with what happened._ Beca had then thought as she convinced herself to fight the building butterflies and knots in her stomach just at the sight of Chloe, to fight the rambling mess of her thoughts in her head on what to say, and just go and get to know her.

Be her friend.

Never let her be left alone and give her kidnapper the chance to abduct her, essentially.

And as she wracked her brain of what to say to Chloe, of what to do to get her attention, and when the perfect time should even be. That's when she noticed it.

That's when she saw what she never did notice before during the first time around.

She saw the bruises peaking underneath Chloe's dress. They looked to have been healing already but bruises nonetheless. Massive bruises to be in exact.

And as Beca payed closer attention, she noticed that there wasn't only one. She saw something like it just below the nape of her neck, peaking through the partition her long red hair made as Chloe swept them to cascade down one shoulder.

Beca had instantly balled her hands into fists as she tried to calm herself down, she was in class after all, but the thought that someone could have done this to Chloe made her blood boil to heights Beca never thought possible.

She had rationalized then, to get her through the day, that perhaps Chloe slipped – like Beca always seemed to be doing – or that she was in an accident or something similar, anything really. Because anything would be better than the thought that someone's hands had left those marks on her.

Preoccupied with those thoughts, Beca had let her chance to speak with Chloe slip then. It would be for the best that she approached her when she had calmed down a bit more.

The next time she spotted her that day was during lunch. Jesse pointed her out in the crowd of people who spent their break in the quad. She could hear her friends become all giddy about something but Beca couldn't really be bothered, her eyes transfixed on Chloe. Having calmed down a little, she wracked her thoughts for a perfect opening line to approach her with that didn't sound too weird. That's when she saw Tom try to approach her. Chloe looked to have been very much irritated at him, and from what it looked like, she wanted to be alone. Tom reached out to grab her to pull her along with him somewhere close to the back entrance of the cafeteria. Beca couldn't see much of what was going on then, a tree blocking her view. But from what she could tell from the arm gestures and the constant surveillance if someone was watching them talk, Tom was upset too.

And yet another thought had crossed Beca's mind then.

Hence, why she was waiting for Tom outside.

Most of the team had left, as far as Beca could tell, but Tom seemed to have been taking his sweet, sweet time.

Beca was growing more and more impatient by the second, an anger swelling up within her.

Tom barely had one foot out the door when his back met the wall, Beca having shoved him up against it in instant. She had been hoping for a more civil talk, but her thoughts led her down one rabbit hole after another.

"Damn it, Mitchell! What the hell are you doing?" Tom asked sounding quite peeved.

"I can ask you the same thing." Beca growled, her hands grabbing onto the collar of his shirt as tightly as she could. "I saw the bruises, you know?" she then said, seething. But before Beca could do her little interrogation via intimidation plan, Tom threw her for a loop.

"Oh." he then said, looking incredibly torn up about it. The sound of defeat in his tone mixed with the look of sympathy in his eyes as he cast it down made it hard for Beca to hate him as much as she did earlier.

"'Oh'?" Beca asked, throwing back what he had said as she finally loosened her grip on his shirt. "What do you mean 'oh'?"

Tom scoffed. "Didn't know you cared about Chloe, Mitchell. What does it interest you anyways?" he asked. He looked more annoyed than anything else which only made Beca even more curious.

"I…" Beca started to say, not entirely sure what to give him as an answer. "It doesn't matter. It still doesn't give you any right –" Beca then started saying, having regained a bit of the anger that had been fueling her earlier, once again grabbing him by the collar.

"Would you quit doing that?!" Tom then replied trying to get Beca's hands off of him. To both their own surprise, Beca was a lot stronger than she seemed, and Tom couldn't get himself free. "It wasn't me, okay?" he then replied, frustrated.

"If not you then who?"

"Look Mitchell…" Tom replied before quickly checking that they were alone. "I… I can't… I tried talking to Chloe about it. I want to help her. I tried helping her. But I can't. Whatever I come up with, it's not enough…"

Beca had let him go once more. Tom looked even more torn up than before, sounding helpless even.

"If not you then who?" Beca then asked again, her mind racing as she tried to guess who it could have been.

Because there definitely was someone behind it, that much she could get from what Tom was saying.

"I… Mitchell, that's something I can't answer. You'll have to ask Chloe."

"Do you or do you not know? You're really testing my patience here." Beca then replied.

Because  _this_ wasn't a kind of secret to protect, at least that's what Beca was thinking then. If someone was hurting Chloe, they had to face the consequences of their actions.

"I'm not trying to protect anyone here, Mitchell, if that's what you're insinuating. I'm only interested in helping Chloe. But things aren't as simple as they are… besides, you wanna know, ask the person this pertains too. It's not my business anyways, not anymore. Chloe made that clear." Tom then said, sounding more and more frustrated as he took this chance to storm off.

"Hey! Hey, wait!" Beca then said, running after him. But Tom was gone

"Beca, you looking for someone?" Stacie asked, suddenly appearing right behind her.

"Uh, no. Not really." Beca replied. She really didn't want to involve Stacie in all of this and end up dragging her into some kind of shaky plan she has to help save Chloe.

"Okay." Stacie then replied. She didn't sound like she believed her a hundred percent. "I'm on my way out now, wanna head out together?"

"Sure." Beca replied. She already messed up a bit, letting herself get overwhelmed by the building rage inside of her –  _Note to self, be more level-headed. You're a high school student Mitchell, you need to play this well but you also need to play this safe –_ that she figured she needed to regroup and clear her head a bit before she takes her next step.

Her next step, however, had apparently already been organized by her friends, or so Beca guessed. As they headed out, Beca spotted Chloe waiting for Stacie who claims she asked Chloe to meet up so she could return the calculator she borrowed during their statistics class. Beca wasn't sure if it was all a contrived plan by her friends, she could only guess Jesse had told said something as he did promise her she had their help. Beca wasn't exactly paying attention to what he meant then, but it would seem Jesse also figured out her crush on Chloe.

Thus, Stacie took this golden opportunity that may or may not have been organized by her scheming group of friends to introduce her to Chloe.

Although as soon as Stacie got the formalities out of the way, Beca figured out that it was indeed very much contrived as Stacie had to suddenly run back inside to get some vague thing she thinks she lost in the library, effectively leaving her with Chloe.

"I… Hi." Beca then said, not knowing where to start. She could just say goodbye and leave now but this was her opportunity to talk to Chloe seeing as Chloe was standing right in front of her then.

This was her chance to build bridges.

"Are you stupid or something, Mitchell? You already said that." Chloe then replied flatly. Gone was the bubbly attitude she used to have, or that cheerful tone she always used when she spoke, or that bright smile on her face.

And Beca could only quell her anger enough as it threatened to swell up inside her chest again by making a silent promise to herself that whoever was hurting Chloe, whoever it was that was dulling her shine and tormenting her, would surely pay.

"Ouch." Beca then mumbled. "Can't believe that's the first thing you'd say…"

"What else would you have me say?" Chloe then asked.

Beca stayed silent for a minute, not really sure about what to say to that.

So she figured she might as well just go be direct about things, Chloe already probably thought she was weird anyways.

"Would you like to be friends?"

"Us? Friends?" Chloe repeated sounding a bit surprised. "Why?"

Beca shrugged. "Why not? Besides, my old man always said I should be more outgoing and all, I might as well take his advice for once."

"You care about your dad huh, I did too." Chloe then replied with a melancholic smile that simply made Beca's heart ache.

So Beca made another silent promise that day. To make Chloe smile again. Not just save her from what she already knew but also make her happy again, one way or another.

Beca simply shrugged again. "So?"

"If you really want to be my friend, would you kill someone for me?" Chloe then asked Beca leaving her stunned for a minute.

But before she could say anything, before she could even register what Chloe had said, Chloe simply shook her head. "I'm kidding." she replied before she turned away to leave.

Beca watched her go as she tried to formulate a plan in her head.

She was getting to the bottom of things.

_No, there's no way in hell I'll let anyone hurt you again, Chloe. I promise you that._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So who do you guys think is the most suspicious character so far?Who do you think was responsible for the bruises on Chloe?
> 
> Also… this fic might stretch out to 20 or 25 chapters… It's hard for me to write incredibly long chapters at the moment so I'm breaking it up into smaller ones. That way, I can update daily and keep you guys from waiting too long.
> 
> UPNEXT: 'Befriend Chloe Plan' is underway! Dr. Mitchell and Beca talk! Beca uncovers who Chloe's abuser is!


	5. Chloe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca finds support in everyone's favorite teacher, Luke, giving her the push she needs to give it another try at reaching out to Chloe to be friends. After a promising attempt, Beca unexpectedly finds an answer to one of the questions currently occupying her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Here's chapter 5, the supposed other half of the chapter I uploaded last night.
> 
> Thanks for the support so far! It's a slow build-up for now when it comes to clues as to who the main villain is but I would love to hear your theories along the way ;)
> 
> Warning: signs and mentions of abuse – I'm not planning to right an actual scene but there will be discoveries and evidences that would be mentioned, I believe, for two more chapters at most

As the days slipped by, Beca focused her energy on figuring out the best way to prevent the kidnappings from happening. Her initial idea still seemed to be the best plan she could have, that is, to start with Chloe and make sure she was safe.

But that plan has evolved in a span of a day, especially now that she found out that someone out there was hurting Chloe.

Chloe started skipping out on school about two months after her father died. Somehow, Beca knew that to be a key piece of information in figuring out who it was hurting her. Something must have happened in those two months and Beca felt the urgency to figure it out.

Hence why it was one of the main points on her crime board, the one she carefully constructed over the last three days she's been back in this timeline and craftily hidden under her bed, fixing the cork board under the frames so that even if her father took a peak under to see what she could be hiding – one can simply never be too safe – he wouldn't easily see it. She even covered it up with one of her spare sheets, wrapping the entire board like a present to make the contents not easily visible. Still, Beca wasn't sure what to make of it. A part of her thinks that solving this problem, helping Chloe escape her abuser, could potentially lead to saving her from the ill fate awaiting her.

Because of what if her abuser and the killer was the same person? Beca ends up hitting two birds with one stone.

And if it isn't, well, Beca could figure that out later. Her main concern is to make sure all her friends are safe from being abducted, and to keep Chloe away from any forms of harm.

But first, she had to fight for Chloe's friendship – yep, she'll settle for friendship, stupid crush be damned. The redhead managed to catch her off guard and slip away the day before, but Beca won't let her get off that easily. Making sure Chloe was alone and out in the open was the most feasible way she could think of to keep her safe for now and she wasn't going to give up on that. Especially when she still hasn't figured out exactly when her abduction will occur.

Because of course that's yet another thing occupying her mind right then, even as she sat through one boring class after the other.

"Ms. Mitchell, mind if I talk to you a bit before heading out?" Luke asked, snapping Beca out of train of thoughts as he decided to end homeroom a few minutes early.

"Um, yeah… sure." Beca replied approaching Luke in front of the classroom as she watched her friends leave with the other students. "Um, what about?" she followed up after Jesse, the last man out, left.

"I just want to make sure you're okay. It's been the third day I've noticed you looking rather preoccupied by things." Luke replied. "I may have also seen that little tense encounter with Tom yesterday afternoon."

Beca bit her lip, not sure to respond. Luke always had a good poker face when talking to students in trouble and he was a master at maintaining a diplomatic voice. "Right, am I in trouble for that?" she asked first, wanting to get that out of the way.

"No." Luke replied. "I'm not really sure what that was about or if you were just defending yourself or anything. I just saw it in passing and you let him go soon enough and talked civilly as far as I can tell. But care to tell me what that was about?"

"He… uh… I thought he was messing with one of my friends. Sorry. It was just a misunderstanding." Beca replied. It wasn't exactly much of a lie, but she couldn't exactly tell Luke anything she knew.

One, telling she lived through all this stuff before and was technically sent back in time by some weird ability she acquired wasn't something a sane person would do.

Two, well, Beca wasn't entirely sure how to broach the topic of what she had discovered with other people. Granted it was Luke she was talking to, the teacher who was more like a buddy to students, an older brother instead of a mentor. Still, he was an authority figure in the school. If she talked to Luke about it, Chloe would pull into the conversation, and technically speaking, Chloe didn't know she knew.

And truth be told, Beca just wasn't sure what to do in a situation like this.

She knew she was technically twenty six with everything she could remember she's been through, but she was still a teenager in this time. A fifteen year old girl who was about to turn sixteen in a few weeks' time. She felt the way she did when she was a teen. She was going through the same emotions and, well, even adults find the situation she's in difficult. Beca didn't want to make any sudden moves that could only worsen the situation for Chloe.

Luke simply nodded, he looked rather thoughtful for a moment. "Is this about Chloe?" he then asked in a serious tone throwing Beca off for a split second.

But apparently that split second of a reaction was all he needed to know the truth. "I've noticed too. Sorry for just jumping that on to you without warning, I just, well, I noticed you were looking at her the entirety of our class yesterday. Not that you don't do that on a regular basis either, but the look on your face said it all."

"I… I… wow…" Beca mumbled in response. She wasn't expecting Luke to be quite perceptive of all of that.

Luke chuckled. "I'm your homeroom adviser, Beca. You're under my wing and protection. Of course I notice."

"Has… um… has Chloe…" Beca started to ask, wanting to know if Chloe ever talked to Luke or sought advice from him. Or for that matter, does Luke know if she's sought out help from anyone else.

Luke shook his head. "I've talked to Mr. Walp about it, we both share the same concerns. Chloe's a good student and we noticed the change in her behavior and all. We're both worried and are looking into what we could do to help. I've asked him to take a lead into checking in with Chloe and try to get her to open up. I'm glad that you seem to be taking your own action too, Beca. I can see you're trying to put a real effort into this."

Beca nodded in response taking in everything that Luke had said. "Don't give up on her, okay? I think she really needs a friend right now despite pushing most of them away. And if I can offer you any assistance in anything, or Mr. Walp, you let us know what we can do, okay? I know we're just teachers and such, but I believe that since you kids spend most your time here that we're like your second parents. Got it?"

"Yeah, thank you." Beca replied, feeling a little bit lighter.

She didn't feel so alone in her fight anymore.

The rest of the day had been rather uneventful. Beca kept an eye out for Chloe though. She would smile at her whenever they'd pass by each other in the hallway, quite the role reversal really to how it was when they were younger, to how it was before Chloe's dad passed away. Chloe simply looked at her curiously instead of returning the smile – quite different from how Beca would react when Chloe used to smile at her as she would return the favor with a shy smile of her own – and would sometimes simply ignore her.

It seemed like she really didn't want anyone near her or anything.

She didn't get any chance to approach her again until after school. Beca had almost given up on trying to reach through Chloe that day until she spotted her standing in the middle of the playground on her way home.

To Beca, it was like reliving a scene that had most definitely passed her by. The tiny bit of guilt she carried over for years for not even calling out to Chloe that night she saw her last, or trying to approach her then, made her heart twinge and gave her the extra boost she needed to overcome the fear that comes with approaching the person one likes.

And it did help that Beca knew that she most definitely had a lot to lose if she did this half-heartedly or if she gave up now. If she lets fear or her nerves get the best of her.

"Hey." Beca greeted as she walked towards her. "Didn't get much of a chance to say hello to you at school today."

Chloe turned to Beca with a quirk brow. "You're already saying hello now." she replied.

"Okay, why do you trying to stop channeling your inner grumpy me, because that so does not suit you. It's not really you." Beca then said. Well, technically she thought of it, she didn't realize she said it out loud.

It did get Chloe's attention however as she turned to face Beca fully, arms crossed in front of her chest. "Maybe we're not so different. In fact, I think we're both alike more than anything. We're just both faking it until we reach the end, right? Until we leave this wasteland of a town and move on?"

Beca had to admit, she didn't expect that answer. But it did ring true. She took Benji's advice before. That was the only reason she had friends. She tried to emulate the things she admired of them and soon they kind of just started to all hang out together. No, she wasn't interested in movies but she kept an open mind to what it was that Jesse would say when he talked about them. Stacie talked about boys, girls, fashion and accessories, and the latest trends and Beca would pick up on them, remember what she said and ask her something about it later on. Cynthia Rose was more chill compared to the others, she'd talk about songs and books and it made Beca thankful to have one friend she could have an easy going conversation with. Flo was just all around entertaining, and no matter how weird her anecdotes got, Beca always paid attention to them in great detail.

They weren't all exactly the same people, and no, Beca didn't like everything they liked or for that matter cared, but she did her best. And sooner than later she realized that she actually cared about them. That despite their differences and quirks, Beca honestly cared and she knew that she wouldn't have them any other way.

Honestly, she was thankful for them. Although she would probably never say that out loud.

So Beca simply shrugged. "I was never really good at making friends." she replied. "But they wanted to know me anyways. So what if I don't actually care about some of the things they like? I care about them. I care that those things make them happy. And even if I fake it, we're not perfect creatures. We have bad days. Sometimes we had to force ourselves to smile until we learn how to be genuinely happy again."

Chloe just listened to what she had to say and stayed silent for a minute or two, seemingly considering what Beca had just said. She shook her head again. "If you're not good at it then why do you want so bad that we become friends?"

Beca shrugged. "Again, why not?"

"Okay, fine. But why  _should_ you? We're both just faking it, remember?"

"Because…" Beca then said before taking a deep breath to compose herself, "Because, Chloe, I decided that I wouldn't lie to you."

Chloe simply looked at Beca yet again. It looked like she was trying to get a read at what on earth is running through her head. Beca took another deep breath, offering a hand to Chloe with a genuine smile on her face. "What do you say, Chloe Beale?"

Chloe took her hand with a bit of reluctance. "You're hands are cold." she noted, not that Chloe's weren't either. "Don't you have gloves?"

"Oh… I must've lost them." Beca replied. True enough she did have gloves that she couldn't remember where she left last. "I could say the same."

Chloe simply chuckled, raising both their hands together as she spread her hand open and pressed it gently on Beca's own palm, their fingertips touching each other's. Chloe fixed her gaze upon them instead of fixing them on Beca's. "I'm holding you to that." she then said. "That won't lie to me."

Beca nodded, not trusting her voice for a second as she felt herself blush. Something about how their hands were pressed together felt so intimate that she was getting a second strong wave of butterflies hit her with full force. Chloe's hand felt so soft and delicate against her sweaty palms – she really couldn't help the nerves she started to feel again – and the calloused fingers she played guitar with every now and then. Her melancholic smile looked so fragile that Beca felt so moved by the simple act of Chloe letting her in a little.

_Get a grip of yourself Mitchell, you're twenty six… technically…_

Chloe took her hand away as she checked the time and waved goodbye.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Make up classes and all." Beca then called out as she watched Chloe leave.

Chloe once again shook her head. "You really are a dummy." she replied before cracking a bit of a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, Beca." she then said.

To say that Beca didn't feel an overwhelming excitement afterwards would be a lie.

She was making progress.

Beca spent a good chunk of the night half working on her crime board, trying to figure out what clues she could be missing, and half thinking about Chloe, looking forward to seeing her again tomorrow as she hoped to make better progress in helping her.

And perhaps, the fact that after all the time that had passed for Beca, the memories she lived through once and carried, she finally had the chance to talk and spend time getting to know the one person that made her feel the way she did right then. Like her heart was dancing on a cloud.

That's why she couldn't help having the reaction she did the next day when she couldn't find Chloe at school. She didn't show up to any of her classes at all.

That was why when she decided to look for Tom instead for answers and saw the worried look on his face, she didn't let him escape her, not until he gave any answers because Beca still felt like Tom most definitely knew something.

"Check her place." was his crestfallen answer.

"Well, care to share her address then?" Beca replied sounding rather impatient and as soon as Tom gave it to her, she didn't waste any time at all. It was an easy decision to make, after all, between finding Chloe and making sure she's alright versus getting trouble for cutting the remaining classes she had that cold and wintry Saturday.

Beca was practically out of breath when she reached the front porch of Chloe's house. Beca didn't even realize that she practically lived only a couple of blocks away from her until then – she really can't be mad at Stacie anymore when she calls her oblivious to everything after this, after all, Chloe  _has_ hosted parties at her place before, parties Beca had avoided back then. As soon as she steadied her breath, Beca decided to ring the doorbell a few times.

But nothing.

She tried knocking, "Chloe? Mrs. Beale? Anybody home?" she called out a few times, but still nothing. Beca looked around. There was a car parked by the garage so there should be someone home.

She walked around the corner to see the white picket gate that led to the backyard was slightly open. "Chloe?" she called out again, as she passed through the gate, hopeful that Chloe or her step-mom wouldn't mind. The glass sliding door to that led back inside the house was shut close, with a heavy set curtain blocking most of the view inside. Beca tried to knock on it, tried sliding the door open but it was locked. She looked around the mostly empty backyard for any clue to where Chloe could be or could have gone, walking towards the middle of the yard to look and see if any of the windows on the second floor were opened or weren't shut close from view by curtains.

The snow had mostly melted away, with a few frozen puddles left on the ground. It was through avoiding one that Beca noticed a frozen pair of gloves sticking to some dead grass beneath her feet. Her eyes scanned the yard once more and noticed the second pair was just a few steps away from the garden shed.

Beca ran towards it, catching the sound of sobs coming from the shed. "Chloe?" she asked once more, trepidation building in her heart as her hands reached out for the door to open it.

Chloe was huddled to one corner, under some wooden table with tools. Beca's heart sank as she stood frozen at the sight of her in a thin white night dress, fresh black bruises scattered on her thighs and legs, on her arms, and even on her face. She had a bloodied lip she tried to hide, as she wiped away the tears streaming down her face, looking away from Beca.

It made her sick.

It made her so sick to see Chloe like that, to know that someone had the audacity to lay their hands on her.

Thankfully, Beca was quick to regain some of her senses, fighting to overcome her initial shock as she shrugged her backpack off and removed her coat. She needed to be what Chloe needed, whatever it was. And she needed to help her someway, somehow. "You must be cold." she said, rushing inside with the intention to cover her up.

More than that, Beca just wanted to take her in her arms then, hold her, protect her, and take her away from there.

"Get out." Chloe croaked.

"But Chloe…" Beca started to argue but Chloe didn't let her.

"Get out Mitchell!" she screamed, making Beca step back a little.

Making her heart break a little more for.

"What's going on?" Beca then heard, snapping her out of the thoughts racing through her head then. She turned around to find Chloe's step-mom, an equally beautiful woman about twice their age, well-poised and stony faced.

Beca felt her mouth dry a little as she searched for words to say but the then widowed Mrs. Beale practically pushed Beca aside and took a step inside the garden shed before throwing Chloe's coat inside. "Come on now Chloe, let's go inside." she said coolly.

Beca watched as Chloe hesitantly reached for her coat. She looked like she was trying to figure out her options but before anything else could happen, Beca heard her step-mom once again call her out to her. "Chloe." she said, with a commanding tone and Chloe shuffled onto her feet, with her head down, her jaw clenched, and her hands tightly gripping onto the hems of her night dress.

That's when it clicked in Beca's head.

Beca's hands balled into fists as Mrs. Beale ushered Chloe to go inside the house, barely even addressing Beca standing there by the garden shed.

"Chloe…" Beca called out, trying her best to keep her cool. "Chloe, how did you get hurt?" she dared to ask, the building anger inside of her giving her enough courage to do so.

Mrs. Beale turned her attention to Beca for a second before placing a hand on Chloe's shoulder. "Go on, Chloe. Tell her." she prompted, her voice sounding so cool and confident.

"I fell down." Chloe answered simply before Mrs. Beale gave her a shove to head on inside.

Beca was about to argue against the fact when Mrs. Beale turned to address her. "Aren't you leaving or am I going to call someone for you trespassing into my home?" she then asked her.

Beca met her gaze in return, the blazing fury in her heart reflected in her stormy blue eyes as she stared directly back, almost daring her to do so.

"Leave." Chloe's step mom then said. "Or I'll have to have a chat with Chloe again regarding visitors." she added.

With bitterness in her heart, Beca begrudgingly did as she was told. Turning for one last look at the house as she left.

Her mind was made up.

She was going to save Chloe from that wretched woman one way or another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In The anime, Kayo (Chloe's counterpart) was regularly beaten by her mom making Satoru (Beca's counterpart) want to save her from that, just to clear things up. In this fic I decided to have it be the step-mom because… well… reasons…
> 
> UPNEXT: Amateur detective Beca! A father-daughter battle of the quips! And an unlikely ally as Beca makes a move to keep Chloe away from harm?


	6. 'X' Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca makes a breakthrough in figuring out when the first abduction will be. In the meantime, she finds allies both old and new as she figures out a plan to prevent Chloe's stepmom from ever hurting her again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said, 15 chapters max? Yep, nope, not happening. If I want to keep a regular update sched, the chapters can’t be jam-packed (otherwise I’ll be updating once in two weeks or something). So… 25 chapters max now. I’ve broken down my outlines into size-able chunks that I can write in the half hour time I take to relax and keep my mind off of science so I can sleep.
> 
> Anyways, here is chapter 6 featuring amateur detective Beca and the formation of what Beca thinks is a solid plan.

Beca found herself pretty much busy over the rest of the weekend, updating notes on her crime board as she tries to figure out how to both keep Chloe away from the kidnapper who abducts and kills her in the first timeline and how to prevent her step-mom from laying a finger on her again.

Beca was doing research on the side on what she could do to help Chloe, but she does know she needs a better understanding of the overall situation too before finally formulating a more permanent solution. It didn't stop her from forming a temporary plan though. And with finally figuring out why Chloe's been acting the way she has been and why she suddenly decided to adopt Beca's attitude of pushing people away – something she used to do by quite a lot – she managed to focus on gaining an understanding on why both Flo, and the student from the nearby private school named Aubrey were also targeted. While Beca has no idea how she'll even start digging around for info regarding Aubrey Posen, she did know that both Flo's parents were away a lot, always working late. The busy parents could have been the reason why, but Flo wasn't exactly always alone in a sense. She was with her group of friends when at school and Beca as pretty sure she had two older siblings around and a cousin staying with them.

Exhausted from all the research. Beca joined her dad for a late night supper that Sunday, her father looking at her curiously as if he was studying her every movement. "What's up?" Beca asked sounding incredibly uncertain at why her father was looking at her the way he was.

Dr. Mitchell simply shrugged as he watched Beca take a seat across from him on the dining table. "Nothing, just, you seem to have been awfully busy."

"Well we have a lot of make-work with the snow days." Beca used as an excuse. "This is pretty good." she then added after tasting the curry her father tried to make.

"You've been saying that a lot lately." his dad then commented.

"Yeah, and so?" Beca threw back.

"Be honest, who are you and what have you done to my daughter?" he asked with a straight face.

"I…" Beca started to say as she tried to figure out how to excuse the recent change in her behavior. She was nicer to him, true, and she hasn't been so hard on him for a while. See, the thing was that immediately after her mother died, her dad started dating some professor again. Beca hated the woman with a passion despite his dad being in a relationship with her for a few good years after. They've ended things about a year ago when she decided to take a job opportunity overseas and Dr. Mitchell decided to stay here not wanting to uproot Beca's life all of a sudden by moving to some foreign country.

She's been pushing him away since then. Taking her anger for moving on too quickly with her as the years went by. It didn't help that he was always so busy with his work either. Admittedly, things were starting to get better with the two of them but Beca still refuses to call him anything remotely close to 'dad' and she was still always somewhat annoyed whenever he reached out.

Beca soon realized that being defensive would only make her sound suspicious and if anything, her father was most definitely just trying to tease her a bit. She relaxed a bit and shook her head. "Just be thankful, will you pops?"

"Oh, I'm thankful. And at least we're down to pops now. No more 'old man' or 'progenitor' titles."

"Whatever, just don't make me call you Darth Vader, because I most definitely will if you keep bugging me about it." Beca then replied.

"I didn't realize you knew Star Wars. You hate movies."

"I still do." Beca quickly replied. "They're all too predictable. Doesn't mean I don't know pop culture though."

"Mhmmm." Dr. Mitchell then replied, still eying her suspiciously. "Whatever you say, Beca Mitchell, if that even is your real name and you're not actually an impostor." he joked.

"You know, I could ask the same thing about you. You seem like you're in a good mood lately. You sure you're my real parental figure?" Beca then threw back.

"Oh me, I'm just happy my daughter's a little less grumpy these days." Dr. Mitchell then replied making Beca smile a little bit to herself.

This. This was what she missed before.

This was one of the things she let slip her by because she held onto some grudge when she never really did hate her father. She just really loved her mother.

Beca shook her head. "You're trying to fish for information on why I'm happy, aren't you?"

"Oh, so you  _are?"_  Dr. Mitchell then asked.

"N-no." Beca then replied. Truth be told, there were tiny little things that did make her happy with her predicament now. But mostly she was just trying to make sure she wasn't taking things for granted and that she actually makes a difference in the outcomes that gave her losses she carried with her for years to come. "I'm okay."

"Alright, I'll take that." Dr. Mitchell then replied.

"Hey pops?" Beca then asked.

"Yes sweetheart?" he then replied.

"Don't call me that."

"Well you call me pops, don't I need a nickname for my darling daughter?"

"No, and don't call me that either." Beca then replied. "Will you listen now or will you continue to annoy me?"

"Alright then Beca, I'm all ears." Dr. Mitchell then replied with a chuckle.

"Uh, do you mind if I have a few people around for my birthday? Invite them for dinner or something."

"Like a party?"

"No."

"You're asking me for permission to have a dinner  _party?_ My incredibly anti-social daughter wants to have a get together for her birthday. Am I getting this right?"

"Yes." Beca then replied.

"What's gotten into you?" Dr. Mitchell then asked, trying to circle back to his earlier question.

"Will you just tell me if I can or cannot already?" Beca then replied trying to hide the annoyance in her tone.

Her father was most definitely fishing for info.

The type she'd rather not disclose.

"How many people?" he then asked.

"Other than me, maybe four or five. Six if I can get Benji to overcome his shyness and drag him here."

"Okay, so that's the Swanson boy, Ms. Fuentes, Ms. Adams, Ms. Conrad, and maybe Jerry Applebaum's kid if you can convince him to come and overcome his shyness." Dr. Mitchell repeated as he tried to figure out the guest list. "Who am I missing?"

"Oh, uh, Chloe."

"As in Chloe Beale?" Dr. Mitchell then asked, sounding quite intrigued at the new name Beca included in the circle of people she knew and at the very least acknowledged.

"Yeah."

"Christopher's kid, Chloe. Pretty girl who always says hi to you since kindergarten but you always shrug off for some apparent reason, a year or so older... that Chloe?"

"How many Chloe Beales do you know?" Beca then retorted. "Yes, that Chloe."

"Hmmm. Okay." Dr. Mitchell then replied, still sounding intrigued. "That's totally fine. I'll cook. I hope you don't mind me hanging around in my study either just to make sure you kids aren't up to something."

"Yeah, fine. Whatever. Just, you sure it's okay?"

"Beca, I've been waiting since your freshman year for you to ask for a party. Trust me when I tell you I'm very much on board."

"Okay, cool." Beca then mumbled in response as she turned her focus on the food on her plate. She could feel her father's eyes still on her, but he thankfully didn't push for any other questions.

 _Guess that's that._ Beca thought to herself, the plans in her head starting to take form.

High on the success of securing her father's approval for the party – because of course the party was part of her grand schemes – Beca found herself bright and early at Mr. Walp's office.

To say that her high school guidance councilor was surprised to even find her in his office would be quite an understatement, especially considering her relationship with her middle school guidance councilor in that, she couldn't even get Beca to come no matter how many appointments she scheduled for the reformed rebel. Some of them mandatory.

"You know, I was actually trying to figure out how I could get you here." Mr. Walp said as he pointed to the empty chair in front of his desk. "I saw you running out of school early last Saturday. Anything you'd like to tell me about that Ms. Mitchell?"

"Right." Beca then said with a look of determination on her face. "That's sort of related to why I wanted to talk to you. I figured you'd know how to help me in this matter better that Lu- err, Sir Luke… um… Mr. Westfield would."

"Okay." Mr. Walp then said, looking at Beca confused. "Because you do know that if you don't have any valid reason, you're actually in trouble right? The only excuses I'll accept involve emergencies of some type so don't try to make something up." he went on, keeping his tone calm and warm and open.

It was kind of like she was talking to Luke in a way. Minus her homeroom teacher's seemingly endless charms.

"Yes. I know." Beca then replied, quickly remembering all her made up excuses for cutting classes before. "But this isn't some game or anything."

"Then what is it, Ms. Mitchell. Beca, if you would let me?"

Beca nodded, giving him the affirmation to just call her by her first name. "It's about Chloe."

"Chloe Beale? Right? What about her?"

Beca took a deep breath and steadied herself, still not sure how to go about this. A part of her still wasn't sure if this was the best course of action either, but this was better than nothing. "I… Her step-mom's hurting her."

"Ah, you've noticed the bruises too then." Mr. Walp then noted in a serious tone. "I suspected something like that was happening, I just wasn't sure." he said, leaning over the desk and placing his chin in his hand, looking rather thoughtful. "And you saw this?"

"Not exactly, no. I was worried when she didn't show up Saturday. I talked to her Friday night and from our conversation, I was left under the impression she would be here. I saw her after… you know…"

"Yeah, yeah." Mr. Walp then replied giving Beca an understanding look. "I'm glad you came to see me Beca. This isn't an easy matter to handle alone. Have you spoken to Chloe after?"

"No, I didn't get the chance. Her step-monst… um… mother indirectly implied that if I don't leave –"

"She'll hurt her again?" Mr. Walp asked for her and Beca nodded. He took a deep breath and sighed, leaning back on his chair. "I'm not really sure what to do next Beca. I've been looking into things myself. I've reached out to the Division of Family and Children Services to report my suspicions but we still haven't gotten any results. It seems that Chloe's step-mom is careful with her tracks, that and every time they give the household a visit, no one's home."

"Wait, you've done that already and still nothing? How incompetent are they?" Beca then asked before realizing that those were probably things she shouldn't have said out loud. "Sorry."

Mr. Walp chuckled. "I'm glad you want what's best for Chloe too, Beca, and you seem to be reaching out to her as well. All you can do is try best and be there for her, so don't give up on her for me, okay? I won't give up on my end too."

"Um, okay." Beca then replied. "Listen, am I still in trouble for skipping out? 'Cause my dad doesn't know and he'll flip if he found out and I really want to be on his good side for now."

This time Mr. Walp simply just laughed. "No, I'm letting you off the hook just this once. You ran out because you were concerned for a friend but don't just up and leave next time, okay Beca?" he then said and Beca nodded in response.

"It's true what they say, you're not so bad after all Mr. Walp." Beca found herself saying as she stood up and he smiled back at her.

"I'm glad to hear. And remember Beca, if you need anything, especially regarding the matter we talked about. My door is always open."

Beca nodded, taking his words to heart before leaving.

"Everything okay?" Jesse asked, her self-designated best friend catching up to her in the hall.

"Yeah. Just got a warning for skipping out on some of my afternoon classes last Saturday."

"Wow, getting off easy then." Jesse commented.

"I guess. Listen, Jess, can you help me out? Can you keep an eye out for Chloe for me?"

"Oh, don't worry Beca. We've been on Chloe-watch since we realized." Jesse then replied with a smug smile.

"Realized what?" Beca asked with great trepidation. Something about how Jesse was acting was making her feel a little bit nervous. The good kind of nervous and flustered but nervous still.

"Just don't worry about it Beca. We'll point you to the general direction of a certain gorgeous redhead when we see her."

"Uh, thanks. Oh, and if you see her alone and I'm otherwise preoccupied…"

"We'll try to keep her company and subtly ask about you and what she thinks about you, no worries. I've got the wing-man duties down."

"Not what I was gonna say, Jess." Beca then replied dryly. "But I suppose that would work."

"Again, don't worry about it Beca. We all support you." he then said, putting an arm around her in sort of a half hug as the bell rang for first period.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Beca replied in a monotonous tone, trying to convince Jesse that it was the truth.

 _But technically you do Beca,_ she thought to herself, but that was beside the point.

She couldn't let her feelings get in the way of her mission right now.

As she suspected, Chloe was once again late for school. She looked tired and Beca couldn't help but try to look for any traces of the bruises she had seen forming a few days before, however, Chloe kept them well hidden. While that still most definitely troubled her, she did her best to focus on the positive steps she's taking right then. Beca had no idea what right way to approach Chloe was, but she didn't let that stop her from smiling at her or greeted her whenever they passed each other. Chloe nodded in acknowledgement, smiling weakly every now and then and Beca took that as some kind of progress.

For the rest of the day, Beca's little subtle operation was running smoothly. Did her friends have any idea why she was asking them weird favors? Nope, not at all. Well, maybe Stacie who thought it was strange that Beca insisted she ask Chloe to do their statistics homework together over lunch even though Beca knew Stacie had it done already.

"Just pretend for me, will you? I'll owe you one." Beca said, trying to convince Stacie.

"Okay, but why don't you just go and study with her? You don't need to be taking the same class, just keep her company."

"I will, next time. I just need to get something done." Beca then replied. "Please, Stace."

"Fine, but only because you're asking nicely and I can tell how much of a big deal this is for you." Stacie then replied.

"Thank you." Beca said before she sprang into action once more.

And by that, she meant Tom.

Beca spotted Tom about to head to the cafeteria for lunch with the intention to join his friends on the hockey team but Beca thought of something better.

So she intercepted him down the hall, grabbed him by the arm, and dragged him pass the quad. They kept going despite Tom's protests until they reached the bleachers surrounding the football field. Beca looked around, there were a few scattered students around, with Benji sitting closest to them. He was alone, tinkering with some kind of trick box.

Beca smiled at him, so did Tom, before she sat down and all but pulled him to seat with her.

"Seriously, Mitchell, what is your problem?" he complained. "Also, have you considered joining some of the sports team, you're freakishly strong and energetic for your size."

Beca did her best to ignore what he said and jumped right into the one thing they seemed to have in common. Chloe.

"I saw." Beca said. "I'm guessing you did too."

Tom's expression changed from irked to conflicted within a split second. "The step-monster's smart. I tried going over once to see how Chloe's been doing after cancelling plans with some of our friends. I didn't react well and I got a little aggressive trying to reach Chloe so I pushed her. She used that opportunity to twist the whole thing, I don't think I need to paint a picture for you since you jumped to the same conclusion."

"Yeah, sorry about that I guess." Beca then replied. "Also, good to know I'm not the only one calling that woman by that name."

"I don't know what you want me to say Mitchell because I don't know how to help Chloe. She shut down all my ideas, granted we've broken up by then."

"What ideas?"

"I thought she could stay with us for a while, but I live in a small house with a big family. I'm already having a hard time keeping up with the team, my studies, and working a part time job to help out, I don't think I could have done much to support her for an extended period of time."

"Yeah, I understand why she shut your idea down, Romeo." Beca replied before taking a deep breath. "Besides, you couldn't have done that alone and the step-monster would have called the police on you for kidnapping."

"You're methods seem to be working though." Tom then noted.

"What methods? I haven't done anything yet."

Tom chuckled. "We have the same classes in the morning. Chloe's late because she spends a lot of time trying to cover up the bruises." he said in a low tone. "Always during the first days of the week too because the step-monster won't lay a finger on her until the weekend so that the marks she leaves behind would have time to heal too. She's all about appearances, that one. Things I've learned that I think you should take note of. This means Chloe will try to avoid people at all cost too during these times of the week, she doesn't want people looking to closely. But you smile at her at the hall as you pass each other by in between classes and she acknowledges you. That's something."

"I did see the fresh version of the bruises." Beca then pointed out, doing her best not to growl as the very memory of it made her blood boil over.

"Even more impressive then. She immediately started pushing me away after I found out." Tom admitted. "I only wanted to help her. Besides, I saw you leaving Mr. Walp's office earlier."

"So?" Beca asked, trying to keep a mask of indifference.

Tom shrugged. "I figured it could be Chloe related. I considered asking his help bet never got the courage to do so. I was too scared he'd think it was me."

"Well, lucky me. I suppose my size discouraged him from suspecting me." Beca deadpanned but Tom shook his head.

"Mitchell, everyone knows you're small but badass. I just never believed it myself."

"What do you mean?"

"Uh, that time you punched Donald in seventh grade and broke his nose for trying to cop a feel on Stacie during Spirit Week. Everyone knows that. The cutting classes bit, skipping out on detention, all of it. Everyone knows. Teachers both in middle school and high school included. Rumor has it the words 'your problem now' were used during your freshman year."

Beca simply shrugged at what Tom said. Those days were long gone now.

"But still, thank you. Whether you sought help or not." Tom then said before standing up to leave.

This time Beca let him.

He'd been helpful enough.

The rest of the day slipped by rather quickly. Beca stayed on alert to spot Chloe as they left school to catch up to her so that they could walk home together.

Chloe noticed Beca keeping the same pace as her when she finally caught up but didn't say much of anything. She just looked at Beca expectantly, as if she was waiting for her to say something.

"What?" Beca asked, confused as to what Chloe could possibly be expecting her to say.

"Nothing." Chloe replied. "What do you want Beca?"

"Nothing much, I thought we could walk home together. I just realized you live about two blocks away from me." Beca answered truthfully as her mind pieced together that Chloe must have been expecting her to say something about what happened Saturday.

But Beca knows about pushing people to hard, she understood walls and barriers.

It was something Chloe didn't want to talk to her about, not just yet anyways.

And Beca decided she would be willing to wait for her to be ready to talk about it. Right now, Beca's main focus was to make sure it doesn't happen again.

"Oh." Chloe replied as she slowed down her pace. "I suppose we can."

"Cool." Beca replied. She took a deep breath as she steadied her nerves. Just being in a close proximity with Chloe made the butterflies inside her stir awake and go fluttering about and Beca knew she couldn't ever let it get the best of her.

Not this time anyways.

"So, um, my birthday's coming up. I was thinking of having people over for dinner and was kinda hoping you could come." Beca then said, making Chloe stop on her tracks. She looked thoughtful for a minute or two before turning to face Beca.

"Wouldn't other people be going?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah, I mean, I hope. But just a small group. Seriously small, I'm not exactly a people person. I just wanted you to be the first person I invite so I haven't asked anyone else yet."

Chloe looked thoughtful for yet another minute as she seemed to consider her answer. "When is it?" she asked.

Beca smiled, "Oh, it's a Sunday."

"Then I can't." Chloe quickly answered before making a move to start walking again.

But Beca didn't let her just get away. She didn't stop her either. She just started walking and caught up with her with ease. If her memory served her correct, she saw Chloe Saturday night, the night of the 2nd of February.

Which meant that there was a chance that Chloe probably escaped her hellish weekends even for a little bit.

Even so, Beca intended that she not be alone that weekend either.

"We'll come up with something so you can." Beca replied.

"Which date is it?" Chloe then asked, sounding a bit irate as she edified her earlier question.

"The third. February." Beca quickly replied. Chloe briefly paused, pursed her lips before turning to look at Beca. She gave her a light nod, making Beca smile a little. "So I take that as a yes?"

Chloe nodded again before picking up her pace.

And Beca smiled as she picked up her own slack. She bid Chloe farewell once she saw her walking towards their house. She practically sprinted towards her own place afterwards to do a bit more planning, she did have to fill up two whole weekends with some sort of activity to make sure that Chloe was out of the house then. Her birthday took care of one of those days, but the rest were still pretty open.

She updated her crime board with bullet points for her current plans. That's when Beca noticed something interesting.

Chloe was a year older than she was but based on what she had written down from what she remembered of the article she read up on before her Revival, the age next to Chloe's name was the same as hers.

Beca was currently fifteen in this new timeline. She was one of the youngest in her class, turning sixteen only in about two weeks.

Chloe was supposed to be sixteen turning seventeen.

 _That means 'X' day happens before Chloe's birthday. She was abducted before then._ Beca thought.  _All I need is to figure out when that date is between the 2_ _nd_ _and the 6_ _th_ _of February and I narrow the days down even further!_

With that thought in mind, Beca tried to get the information out from Chloe the following day just after music class.

But to no avail. Chloe simply stared at her and shook her head before walking away.

"Are you planning to do something sweet for Chloe, Beca?" Denise then asked as they walked out of the classroom. "I'm pretty sure Tom might have you beat in that already."

"Oh, will you leave her be." Stacie then said, stepping up to Beca's aid.

Denise simply scoffed in return and marched off down the opposite end of the hall.

"Why are you asking her though?" Stacie then asked, genuinely curious just in time for Cynthia Rose, Flo, and Jesse to join them.

"Oh, um, I told her when mine was, I thought it would be cool if I knew hers too. That said, if you guys are free, I'm inviting you to dinner for my birthday over our place."

"Wait, Beca Mitchell throwing a small party?" Jesse then asked sounding rather impressed.

"Yeah, just us." Beca replied.

"I'm guessing you invited Chloe too?" Cynthia Rose then asked, jumping in.

"Yup, I asked her first."

"Ah, good to know we're the afterthought then, Beca." Stacie then commented.

"N-no. That's not it. I just forgot." Beca lied.

She really did want to invite Chloe first, but she didn't consider that her friends would think they're just afterthoughts.

"I'm kidding, ease up." Stacie then said with a chuckle.

"Wait, but when is it again, Beca? I just realized you never actually seem to celebrate it." Flo then asked.

"Oh, on the third of Feb." Beca replied and this time Stacie laughed.

"Oh God, oblivious Mitchell strikes again!" Stacie then commented.

Beca was just about to ask why when Jesse beat her to the punch. "Oh, right. I actually almost forgot about Chloe's birthday."

"Wait, why? What are you guys talking about?" Beca asked, incredibly confused.

"Shorty, Chloe throws a party every year. I'm pretty sure she tried inviting you a few times." Cynthia Rose said but Beca simply looked at her confused.

"It's the same date, Mitchell." Stacie then clarified. "You have the same birthday. That's probably why Chloe blew you off when you asked."

And Beca would have been embarrassed about it – she actually was and she was trying to figure out a way to make it up to Chloe already – but she chose not to focus on that.

' _X' day… That means 'X' day could only be one day…_ Beca thought.

 _It's February 2_ _nd_ _._

_I have to make sure I keep her safe on that day no matter what._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s a little anecdote not related to this fic but I thought I might share… I was looking at old fic outlines and ideas and stumbled upon the OG outlines of 2 of my oldest fics. 
> 
> For those who’ve been with me since I started writing, you’ll remember ‘What If’ and ‘Make a Wish’. Those 2 were supposed to be my last 2 fics (apparently, I don’t know how to quit). I wrote a short rough Bechloe fic (my first one ever) and posted it on my tumblr page (~7 chapters) and I was only supposed to give writing fics a try because I had writers block on my own hobby of a writing project. Then I had the idea for ‘The Red String of Fate’, posted that on tumblr, and while completing it had the idea for the 2 other fics mentioned above. ‘What If’ was supposed to only be 5 chapters long (it ended up being 25 with an equally long sorta sequel) and ‘Make a Wish’ (which had a different title then) was only supposed to be between 5-7 chapters long. After that I intended to quit writing fanfics.  
> And yet, here we are. Anyways, I suppose what I wanted to say was thanks for all the support, for the comments, reviews, and exchanges I had with a good few of you, my lovely readers. It’s because of it that I continue to write and find the time writing these stories that otherwise would have simply stayed in my head and one day forgotten. In a way, I feel like you all were with me through grad school as, on some days, writing fics help keep my sanity – like I channel all my stress in emotion in them (so, sorry for all the angst, I blame grad school).
> 
> That said, as I begin to wrap up my graduate studies, I do intend to take a break from writing fics and eventually focus on my main writing projects, so I’ll be posting fics less and less (again, I don’t think I can actually quit). ‘A Twist in the Story’ (my other ongoing Bechloe fic) would be my last for a while. So, again, thank you very much. 
> 
> UPNEXT: Beca gets pretty solid advice; Dr. Mitchell steps up in being a dad; and Beca comes up with a plan to make sure Chloe doesn’t get hurt again… at least for a while (they kinda sorta go out on a date type thing…)


	7. Refuge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca comes up with a plan to keep Chloe in safe hands over the weekend and Dr. Mitchell provides some help. Chloe starts to smile again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep saying I broke chapters to make them shorter but this one ended up to still be a bit long… sorry for the delays, I could only finish Beca’s POV last night. I’ll try to get chapter 8 tomorrow not if not Monday.
> 
> Other character POVs will start after chapter 9 (although we get a Chloe POV in this one). Mostly because their input will become more important. Also, if you guys miss Amy, she’ll pop back around chapter 9 and be a constant presence from 20/21 onwards. You’ll see why.

Beca was up and running bright and early the next day, she even went out of the way to make breakfast to her dad’s own surprise. Sure the toast was a bit overdone but the eggs turned out pretty well so she decided to just call that a win. See, Beca’s got a plan she thinks would work pretty well.

She knew she didn’t exactly have much info on who the real criminal was and it would be hard to work off from that angle, so she decided that she’d do her best to make sure that he doesn’t get an opportunity to ever approach his targets.

Which she then figured out would work well for Chloe too.

If she kept Chloe out of her house for as much as possible, then she could keep her safe. If what Tom said was true, her step-mom wouldn’t dare to lay a finger on Chloe if it meant she had to go to school the next day or if it meant that she’d have to miss many days to allow the bruises to heal enough that they wouldn’t be noticeable and Chloe would be able to cover them up easily.

So really, it’s a win-win. She gets to spend time with Chloe, she gets to protect her from her step-mom, and away from the kidnapper who’s going to target her.

Hence, why she’s been in a pretty good mood.

“Why do I feel like you’re trying to butter me up?” Dr. Mitchell asked as he took his seat on the table after Beca had set the food.

“Maybe I am.” Beca admitted, sitting across him and digging in.

“Okay.” Dr. Mitchell replied. “You’re not in trouble at school, are you? Because we’ve talked about this Beca, the deal I made with you regarding college…”

“I know.” Beca replied. “I know the deal, don’t have to repeat it. Besides, I’m actually considering that maybe you’re suggestion on the whole college thing might not be so bad.”

“Oh?” Dr. Mitchell asked as he looked at Beca incredulously. “You’re not one who usually changes her mind that easily. What made you say that?”

The truth about that matter was that Beca’s lived the struggling artist life. That and she’s put a lot of thought into things. It wasn’t about the safe job she might get with a degree but the fact that if she chose to take a major related to her passions in making music, then it could potentially lead to internships and job opportunities that could get her into the industry.

Plus, if it helped her convinced her dad of her idea, skip out on the whole time travel details of her woeful tale and all too, then the better.

“Nothing, I’m just considering options.” Beca then replied. “But listen, I was wondering if you could give me the permission to go out this Saturday and stay out a bit late.”

“Why?” Dr. Mitchell asked, donning his best strict dad face.

“I’m just going out with a friend.” Beca replied. “Hey, be thankful I’m letting you know instead of just sneaking out when you’re already sleeping.”

“I suppose you have a point there.” Dr. Mitchell then said. “Is it a date?”

“N-no.” Beca replied, doing her best to keep her eyes on her own plate, the crack in her voice betraying her slightly.

“Really?” Dr. Mitchell went on. “Because if it is a date, I might even give you money for it, make sure you’re holding onto something other than your allowance.”

“Wait, seriously?” Beca then replied, surprise in her tone.

“Oh, so it is a date then?” Dr. Mitchell then said.

_Damn it. That was smooth, father, smooth._

“No. I-I already told you…” Beca replied before clearing her throat and trying to keep the fluttering feeling inside of her from overwhelming her.

There were more serious matters at hand.

“I’m planning to go out with Chloe.” Beca then replied and Dr. Mitchell simply nodded.

“Still sure you’ve got nothing you want to tell me?” he then asked.

“Yes. Quit bugging me about that already.” Beca replied, looking down on her plate again and placing her head in her hands as she ate, hoping her father doesn’t notice the bright crimson color undoubtedly tainting her cheeks.

“Alright.” Dr. Mitchell replied, hands up in the air in surrender. “For as long as you come home before midnight.”

“At midnight the latest.” Beca then bargained.

“Okay. But that’s the latest. And you’re telling me where you’re going.”

“Deal.” Beca replied with a genuine smile. Things were falling into place.

So maybe that’s why Beca’s been in a good mood the entire day, buying Stacie lunch for her help the day before in keeping Chloe company while she enjoyed pretty much the rest of her free time with Chloe studying at the library. For her part, Chloe didn’t protest when Beca asked if she could join her, also thankful that the fiasco about forgetting Chloe’s birthday was temporarily forgotten. Despite everything that’s happened, she had to admit that Chloe’s resolve in working hard at school was something to be admired. Tom, who Beca had a brief chat with after running into each other on the way to school, had pretty much said the same.

“She really wants to get out of here you know. Get into college, live independently. Chloe’s always been a good student so she knows that’s her ticket out.” he had said.

And in a way, it gave Beca the boost she needed to tackle her own scholastic progress if she really is serious in giving going to college a try.

Beca sat in comfortable silence doing her own work, glancing up at Chloe every once in a while. She knew that for her plan to work, she’d have to actually invite Chloe but she hasn’t settled her options on where to go first. Making a mental note to finalize plans later, Beca tried to focus on studying but getting through her math homework was harder than Beca had wished it to be, and going through the notes that she did have was just painfully boring.

So Beca tried to motivate herself with a bit of music, placing her the trusty headphones she had always hanging around her neck over her ear and turning on her old iPod and listening to some the first mixes and mashups she’d worked on, putting a smile on her face as she felt a wave of nostalgia hit her.

Beca managed doing pretty well after that, fining it easier to focus on her work. Before she knew it, the situation had reversed and, to her own surprise, Beca found Chloe starring at her as she worked.

“Sorry, just… you started tapping and humming and…” Chloe started to say.

“Oh, drat. Didn’t mean to disturb you.” Beca mumbled as an apology but Chloe shook her head.

“No, I… I was kind of just intrigued.” Chloe then replied. “I always see you with your head phones on and all. What do you listen to all day long, anyways?”

“Oh, you wanna…” Beca replied, taking her headphones off without a hesitation and offering it to Chloe.

Chloe gingerly took the pair of headphones from her and carefully placed them on her own ears. Chloe smiled, bright and warm, as soon as she heard the music playing – and oh God, Beca never through she’d never see Chloe ever smile in the way that she used to during brighter days – looking at Beca with a questioning gaze.

“Where did you find these? They’re pretty amazing. Original mixes right? Who’s the DJ who made them? I don’t think I’ve heard them on the radio before.”

Beca gave a smug smile, feeling a bit of pride. “Glad you like my work.” she then replied and Chloe looked at her surprised.

“Wow, didn’t realize you’ve got talent like this, Mitchell.” Chloe noted. “A bit conceited listening to your own work though, don’t you think?”

Beca shrugged. “I like remembering the things that inspired me to make them.” she then said and Chloe once again gave her a questioning look but Beca chose not to answer.

She was rather thankful Chloe didn’t push her for more info either as they were all rather personal.

And some of the mixes may or may not have been inspired by Beca’s pinning on Chloe with her stupid crush and all.

But while the answers did stay hidden for now, Chloe’s question did give Beca an idea.

A bit of research to make sure the place she had in mind was still open in the middle of winter led Beca to her decision the next day. Thankful for having to catch Chloe just as they headed for their music class, she decided that she wasn’t going to waste her opportunity to ask the redhead her question.

However, Luke just had to have been carrying some weird type of oriental instrument into the classroom for a bit of show and tell that Chloe and Beca ended up having to help him to set it up instead as soon as they settled their stuff on their seats. Beca decided to just catch up and ask Chloe on the way home instead, in case things end up interrupting her chances again.

While the rest of the class actually turned out to be interesting, it still ended up in a bit of drama. Beca wasn’t really sure what the hell Denise’s problem was but just before class ended, she made it a point that her wallet was missing and blamed Chloe for it.

“Why on earth would Chloe even try and do that? She would never do such a thing!” Beca instantly reacted as soon as she insinuated it. Chloe looked at her stunned with Beca’s sudden outburst, but to Beca, just because Chloe was alienating herself doesn’t mean people get to do stupid things like this. “If anything, I’d say it’s rather suspicious you’re dead set in thinking Chloe did it.”

Chloe checked her bag before tossing the wallet back to Denise, her jaw set tightly as she glared back. But before Denise could say anything, Stacie pointed out that since Luke asked everyone to step up and give playing the instrument a try anyone could have decided to play the prank. That’s when Luke stepped in and diplomatically handled everything else, asking both Denise and Chloe to stay a bit after class to talk to them about the whole scene.

“What the hell is her problem?” Beca fumed as soon as they stepped out of the classroom.

“Maybe she’s jealous of Chloe? I don’t know. They used to be friends.” Jesse offered as an explanation.

“I think I might have an idea.” Cynthia Rose replied, sounding a bit bummed. “Denise isn’t so bad you know, people just do irrational things when, well…”

“When what?” Beca asked, still pretty much upset by the whole thing but Cynthia Rose decided to keep mom about it.

It wasn’t until the day that Beca managed to run into Chloe again. “Mind if I walk home with you?” Beca asked, a question she’s been asking Chloe pretty much every day now.

“I don’t think you need to ask anymore.” Chloe then replied. “Although, I am curious, what’s up with this whole thing of you walking me home?”

Beca shrugged. “I just wanna spend time with you, is that bad?”

“Beca, you promised.” Chloe then replied reminding her of what she had once said.

That she won’t lie to her, ever.

“It is the truth.” Beca replied. “Besides, it’ll keep idiots away from pulling any pranks.” she then gave as a reply, the closest thing to the truth she could actually say because how does she even explain to Chloe that she just wants to keep her safe? From her step-mom and what Beca knew would happen to her?

“About that.” Chloe then replied. “Thanks.”

“For what?” Beca asked.

“You know, I lost most my friends after my dad… you know. A lot of things happened in between and if I’d cry, I’m seeking attention, for example. I realized that high school’s just filled with people like that. People who just want the spotlight, and live in the glory that comes with admiration. I just couldn’t stand it. They didn’t care, they didn’t want to listen. It’s one thing to try and just find a way to get through each day as bearable as possible and play the role you invented for that purpose. It’s another to pretend and play with people’s lives.”

Beca simply listened as Chloe unloaded her thoughts. She could tell, she felt alone.

She was suffocating and no one could see it.

She was screaming and no one could hear it.

That’s why she decided to just push people away.

“Well, you have me now.” Beca then replied, catching Chloe’s attention.

Chloe briefly smiled. “Funny isn’t it? It feels like a role reversal.” she replied and Beca couldn’t help but chuckle. It was true. Chloe was this ray of sunshine who would always try to smile at her, greet her, offer her hand and pull her from the shadows.

And when they were younger and Beca lost her mom, she could vaguely remember Chloe being their trying to reach out to her then.

But she really was an idiot because she shut her down then.

“So, Saturday. Would you like to come join me on a short trip somewhere?” Beca then asked, changing the topic and catching Chloe a bit off guard.

“I don’t think I can, Beca.” Chloe replied.

“Then I’ll ask for permission for you.” Beca then said, not simply giving up.

Chloe looked uncertain for a moment but she could tell that Beca wasn’t going to take no for an answer. She regarded her for a minute, trying to get a read on what could be going on in Beca’s little head, but nevertheless relented into letting her try.

Beca felt nervous, of course she did, but to choose fear now felt like betraying Chloe. So she took a deep breath and chose to be brave instead.

As it turned out, Chloe’s step-mom was already at home by the time they get out of school.

And of course asking permission for Chloe to come with her ended up with a ‘no’.

But Beca wasn’t just going to take that standing. Getting Chloe out of the house was the only simple and small thing a high school student like her could do.

And of course that ended up terribly, with Chloe’s step-mom seemingly close to losing her cool. For a moment there, Chloe seemed like she was about to angle herself between Beca and her step-mom, but in an unexpected turn of events, her father showed up.

Dr. Mitchell decided to step-in and intervene, asking Mrs. Beale to relent and let Chloe go with Beca.

“I just don’t think that two high school kids should be going out all day on their own, and quite frankly, this matter doesn’t concern you, Ben.”

“Oh, I’d say about half of it is mine.” he replied. “Besides, what kind of trouble do you think they’d get into?”

“Do you want to go?” Mrs. Beale then asked Chloe still sounding quite annoyed. If anything, Beca thought that it sounded more like barking.

Beca had to admit, she was a bit scared that Chloe would cave, that she would say no.

But Chloe found the courage to say yes.

And that was that.

Beca felt a smile tug at her lips as she continued to walk home with her did. “So, did I do good back there?”

Beca chuckled. “Yes.” she replied. “Although what are you doing home so early anyways?”

“Oh, the breaker short circuited in our building blazed up a little. The university decided it was safer to cancel classes being held there for the day to make sure everyone was safe until they got everything under control. I was going around for a walk around the neighborhood when I saw you and Chloe and decided to follow you.”

“You followed us?” Beca asked, repeating her father’s words.

“I’m kidding. Besides, we were walking towards the same general direction.” Dr. Mitchell then replied.

“Thanks pops.” Beca gave a response despite still looking at him suspiciously. She knew the truth, he most definitely followed them to snoop a little or something. After all, he hasn’t stopped asking questions about Chloe, like how they started becoming friends and all.

Her dad simply smiled before placing a hand on Beca’s shoulders as they continued along their walk.

“Just promise me you’re not going to give up on this halfway, Beca.” he then said.

Beca nodded, not entirely sure what he meant by it.

It was never her intention to give up on any of this in the first place.

 

* * *

 

Beca led the way up the trail through the snow covered trail, offering Chloe a hand as they continued on along the path. The main skiing area of the resort was on the opposite direction of where they were headed, making Chloe even more curious as they continued on their way up.

Darkness loomed around her life for the last few months starting with the accident that took her father’s life. No, perhaps even before that. Maybe it started when her mother died of an illness. Maybe it started when she believed that the woman her father he ended up marrying would be kind and loving, would be someone who could make her father happy.

Or maybe it didn’t start then. Maybe it started somewhere along the way just like the sun ended up setting while on their way to the ski resort.

Maybe it started when her dad got busier with his start-up company, when her step-mom demanded more time.

Maybe it started when Chloe saw her with her having lunch with her dad’s friend and they had a massive argument about it.

Maybe it started when her step-mom miscarried.

And she blamed Chloe.

For every bad thing that happened since.

Not that she doesn’t blame herself a little bit either.

Chloe smiled, reaching out to accept Beca’s hand, noting how cold it was. Here they were trapesing through the snow again without gloves again. Although Chloe had to admit, she was a bit impressed with how Beca was doing so well without scarves or any added layers, just her blue long sleeved shirt underneath and the black hooded winter jacket. Beca’s smile got bigger as she practically pulled her along the way to get to their destination faster, interlacing their fingers once Chloe matched her pace.

Chloe smiled softly to herself, Beca’s been doing that a lot lately.

Never in her wildest dreams did she ever thing that Beca Mitchell would ever even talk to her. All she’s gotten as a reaction from her in the past was an awkward shy smile or mumbling muttered greetings.

Beca always seemed to be too content to be on her own, with her headphones pretty much always on her ear, working on her laptop on mixes that Chloe never knew about until now, and keeping people at bay. She’s only ever started hanging out with a select hand few of people, and now apparently Chloe too.

In a way, Beca was like the multitude stars above the dark sky.

An unexpected light.

And Chloe really didn’t know what to make of it.

She’s always liked Beca. Even when she was dating Tom, she knew she had a bit of a crush on her, but she dashed the hopes of anything ever coming out of it. Beca just seemed to be too distant.

But now, she seems to be fighting for Chloe’s company. She was opening herself up, closing that distance herself.

Chloe could pretend she doesn’t see it either, but she knows that Beca cared for her. She found out her dark secret, but respected her boundaries with what she was willing to share. Unlike Tom who wanted to know every excruciating detail just to help her, and jump into a situation without thinking. She knows he cared, that’s why he’s asking how he could help, but having her relive things she’s not ready to face, things happening to her that she’s still trying to catch up and comprehend and accept, it just felt suffocating.

Because this isn’t about Tom getting the chance to play the hero.

And yet here’s Beca, offering a simple solution to a complex problem. Fighting to help her in a constructive way.

She’s thankful for that.

She’s thankful for Beca always keeping her company without asking much in return. It made her feel less lonely.

She’s thankful for how she’d offer to walk with her home after school, chatting about pretty much anything – it was mostly music, especially with how Beca started sharing more of her mixes with her, even bringing earphones that day instead of her usual headphones so that they could share. It made her feel a bit of happiness.

She’s thankful for the subtle ways Beca would make sure she was okay. The whole loud announcement she made the day before as she walked her home that she would pick her up Saturday morning on their way to make-up classes included.

And she’s thankful that Beca Mitchell who always had a scowl on her face in the morning was standing outside her door bright and early Saturday morning with a thermos of hot chocolate and breakfast sandwiches her dad made that the two of them could share.

“Where are you actually taking me, Beca?” then asked as she started to go off the main trail and past a thicket of massive pine trees that Chloe was starting to wonder what exactly was Beca thinking at the moment or if they were actually just lost and Beca didn’t want to admit to anything.

But Beca did answer. She didn’t need to.

They stepped into a clearing, Beca once again taking the lead before pulling Chloe closer as they approached a gigantic tree in the middle. Some of its branches had frozen over, a few icicles hanging on the tips that Beca didn’t dare take any step closer than where they were at a safe distance.

Oh but the sight of it was truly wonderful.

Especially with how the stars shone ever so brightly in the night sky – Chloe’s never even seen that many before – and how they reflected on the ice that formed, twinkling like happy little lights illuminating the area.

“My dad used to bring me here.” Beca then said. “Once with my mom, during our last Christmas together, and then during our first few Christmases without her. Even when I was upset with him, he’d still bring me here for tradition’s sake, and that giant oak tree is our Christmas tree. I guess it can be ours now.”

Chloe chuckled, “Beca, it’s the tail end of January.” she pointed out but Beca simply shrugged. Somehow Chloe knew it didn’t matter if it was the tail end of January or the beginning of July for that matter.

It was still their Christmas tree.

And Chloe smiled a little bit more, realizing that she was truly glad she decided to have a bit of courage and accept Beca’s offer.

She hadn’t been this happy in a long while.

Perhaps it was that thought that made Chloe worry a bit with what would come next, unsure if she was even allowed to still be happy with the hell she’s been living through.

A place doesn’t really want to go back to.

“Hey Chloe, wanna come over tomorrow?” Beca asked on their way back. She walked Chloe all the way to their front porch, not letting her go until she’s inside.

Even then Chloe could recognize the way Beca seemed to tense up, not exactly wanting to let go of her hand even when they’ve reached the end of the line.

“I can swing by to pick you up and bring you back in the late afternoon. I pitched the idea to my dad and he’s pretty much expecting you to join us for brunch.” Beca then said loudly.

“I’ll try.” Chloe replied, no promises.

She wasn’t sure what the night would bring.

But apparently it only brought sweet dreams, Beca’s little declaration of plans doing the trick.

That’s how for the first Sunday in a long while, Chloe found herself in Beca’s room, listening to mixes, joining her and her dad for brunch and even an early dinner. She even got a personal playlist uploaded into her mp3 player courtesy of Beca. It was a pleasant change from being practically shoved in an ice bath to heal the bruises on her skin in time for Monday.

And when Monday came, Chloe got up early, beating Beca to school and earning her a pout from the aspiring DJ because they didn’t get to walk together.

But the pout didn’t last long.

Beca smiled at her knowingly. “You look beautiful today.” she said breathlessly.

Chloe smiled back, genuinely happy.

_It’s all thanks to you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was writing this chapter when my playlist played an old song from when I was growing up, and I was like ‘This is perfect!’ because of course music just has to play some role in Beca’s life and her love story with Chloe, burgeoning or already in full bloom.
> 
> You’ll see it in a few chapters (I think around 13 or 14), hope you’d like it too ;) I don’t think a lot of people are familiar with it. I’m mentioning it now because I am planning to use it in a Bechloe scene, and well… something happens before that and I didn’t want to give you all heart attacks or massive irrecoverable heartbreaks.
> 
> UPNEXT: Hand holding! More cute date-like things! And Beca’s oversight?


	8. The Moment I Missed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca experiences a bit of deja vu as 'X' Day and her shared birthday with Chloe arrive. Will Beca be able to save Chloe?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry for the cliffhanger-y end for this chapter. I’ll try to get chapter 9 up by tomorrow.
> 
> Thanks for the support so far! If you like the fic, help spread the word ;) Comments and reviews are always appreciated, I like exchanging messages with you guys and hearing your theories too!

So far, everything was going according to plan.

With the whole kidnapper-slash-killer possibly out there in the world, Beca knew that making sure that Chloe was never alone would be the best way to keep her safe. It would never give them a chance to enact whatever they were planning. Once Chloe was safe, Beca knew she could start looking into the next victims.

With Flo, it would be a bit easy. She’d just need to make sure that she increases the time they spend together as friends.

It was Aubrey Posen that was the problem. Beca hasn’t heard much about her, other than finally figuring out which of the other two schools nearby she attended – apparently she was a new student the posh private academy in town, as she briefly heard from Benji who’s always on alert on people who tend to be loners. With Beca not really knowing anyone there, it would be a bit harder to initiate contact with Aubrey.

But she could worry about that later.

Her main focus was Chloe.

The week following their successful weekend together had been going smoothly. In the mornings, Beca would stop at Chloe’s house along the way, sacrificing her usual sleeping patterns to make sure that nothing bad has happened to Chloe, and she would walk her home after school too.

Well, technically after studying for long hours together at a café near the school before walking Chloe home. Sometimes they’d go straight to Beca’s place and Beca would walk her home after they have dinner together with Dr. Mitchell. She wanted to minimize the amount of time the redhead spent stuck in their house in case her step-mom just snaps.

And if Beca were being honest, that time spent together was also making her happy. She was getting to know Chloe a whole lot better than the last time when she was just this person she had a crush on. More than that, Beca felt a bit of pride for successfully making Chloe smile again, laugh a bit. It was like the butterflies inside of her were constantly fluttering still, but they were undergoing some kind of metamorphosis as Beca felt some kind of warmth spread through her from the inside out just by spending time with Chloe.

Of course, along with the good came the annoying in the form of Stacie’s constant teasing, Flo’s avid support – she really didn’t need to loudly point out that they’ve been walking to school together while holding hands, something that had become more of a subconscious response to Beca as soon as Chloe stood next to her – and Jesse’s constant curious looks mixed with his own ways of supporting Beca.

Really, Cynthia Rose was the only sane one in her group of friends.

Luke seemed to have noticed the change the week had made too, giving Beca subtle thumbs ups or nods whenever he sees Chloe or just after class as they head out, undoubtedly having observed Chloe’s full week without absences or tardiness. That and the overall lack of bruises that still made Beca smile.

Even Mr. Walp had acknowledged what she’s been up to, sort of. “I’m happy you’re helping in your own small ways Beca, makes me more determined in getting action done on my end.” he said as Beca passed him down the hall just as her free period was about to end.

Tom too. Beca ran into him on her way out the other day, waiting for Chloe to get out of her class with Stacie. He saw him exiting Mr. Walp’s office, sporting a black eye for some reason, his bag in hand, and the white overalls worn by the Applebaum’s food service company rolled up and tucked in his arms. Beca would have thought that all was missing was the company issued boots but then she noticed Tom had already been wearing them.

“What happened to you?” Beca had asked him.

“Oh, someone in our team just said something about Chloe and we got into a fight. I was admittedly being an idiot, but so was he.” Tom had a given as a garbled reply. “Speaking of, you’re really something, aren’t you? You managed to actually come up with a reasonable plan to help her.”

Beca had simply shrugged in response. “Honestly, I couldn’t come up with anything else so I thought of keeping it simple.”

“Still Mitchell, thank you. Knowing you’re working on ways to help her makes me want to contribute somehow. We’re all in this together, right?” he had given as a reply, making Beca wonder what he meant by that.

But Beca never had the chance to ask him much about it, what with Tom rushing out as noted the time. He didn’t want to be late for work.

With everything having gone smoothly, Beca couldn’t help but feel nervous.

Before she knew it, _‘X’ Day_ had approached.

It started out similar to the past couple of days, except Beca was feeling anxious so she decided to trek on over to Chloe’s as soon as she got up before they headed to the last of their make-up classes.

 And by early, it was totally five thirty in the morning.

Beca noticed the faint glow of light coming from the second floor window facing the front porch. The curtains were slightly drawn and Beca could see someone moving from the inside. She started weighing her options on what to do next, not entirely sure if it was Chloe’s step-mom’s room she was peering into or not when she saw Chloe in her own pink PJs draw the curtains fully and open the window.

With a chuckle, Chloe leaned on her window sill, “Beca, do you know what time it is?” she said, trying to keep the volume of her voice low enough not to wake up her step-mom who was possibly still sleeping but loud enough for Beca to hear.

Beca simply shrugged and showed her thermos of hot chocolate. “Give me ten minutes.” she then heard Chloe say.

And ten minutes was indeed all it took. “I’m never going to get things done in time if you keep this up.” she heard Chloe mutter as the two of them took their time walking to the school, stopping at the nearby playground to enjoy the hot chocolate and the breakfast sandwiches Beca prepared.

The rest of the day went on faster than Beca anticipated and soon she found herself with Chloe at the science museum that afternoon. She extended the invite to all her friends, and Flo even look excited to join, when Jesse said they had a thing that would keep them all busy.

When Beca pried, Cynthia Rose just pointed out that Denise was throwing a party at her place that night.

 _So it was her party that Jesse dragged me off the last time,_ Beca then thought to herself.

But as the afternoon went on, Beca felt both excited and nauseous. She was enjoying Chloe’s company but something kept feeling off.

 _Why… why do I feel like I lived this day before?_ Beca asked herself as she noticed she could predict some of Chloe’s actions, like which attraction she wanted to go next or when she went to the restroom for a few minutes.

Even some of the things that she said. “Didn’t know the science museum was interesting for music lovers like you?” Chloe had asked then and had asked Beca the same thing just a few minutes ago.

She had given the same answer then, a mumbled response of “Technology and soundwaves.”

And it scared Beca as she recognized the uncanny similarity of events. It made her panic.

Because it felt like she was reliving a memory.

But then Chloe returned and did something Beca wasn’t able to predict. She knew which attraction they were going to next, but this time Chloe held her hand.

And it hit Beca that she _was_ indeed reliving parts of a memory but on a wrong date.

_Right, I went by myself a week early to the museum last time. I ran into Chloe here back then, she had gone by herself too. I didn’t have the courage then… none to even just say hello._

Beca wasn’t quite sure what to feel with that realization. _Why do I feel like I’m still stuck in the same loop?_

_Is it because the day’s not done yet?_

_Is it because Chloe’s still in danger?_

Beca took a deep breath to calm herself then, standing next to Chloe in front an exhibit on evolution. _I’ll feel better when this day is over._

_If we can make it then, I know I’d have been able to change something._

“Hey guys!” she then heard Jesse say as he, Stacie, Cynthia Rose, and Flo appeared from behind them. “Sorry for intruding but we ended up having free time in the end.”

“Yeah, the party was lame so we decided to bounce.” Stacie then said.

“Wait, isn’t this place supposed to close in like a few minutes?” Flo then pointed out.

“We should probably grab dinner somewhere then.” Cynthia Rose then proposed and Beca was quick to jump at the plan.

A week later or not, the group dinner was most definitely something new that happened in this timeline, and Beca was actively all for that, making new memories of things that haven’t happened before.

She walked Chloe home again, promising to swing by early so they could go around town before having dinner at Beca’s place for their shared birthday. Chloe simply chuckled in response and agreed.

Beca walked home deep in thought. The night wasn’t over yet. Trepidation filled her heart as she went on her way, convincing herself that Chloe wasn’t at the playground where she last saw her.

That much has changed.

And if that was the place where she got abducted, then surely this was enough to ensure her safety.

“Beca, late night stroll?” she heard Benji say as she ran into him on the street.

“Oh, just dropped Chloe home.” Beca answered absentmindedly. “You?”

Benji shrugged. “Wanted to go on a stroll myself. Tryna’ come up with a new magic trick.” he replied. “I’m happy though, you’re really become more outgoing, I’m kind of jealous. And you’ve been pulling Chloe too, she seemed lonely the last few months. I’m glad.”

Beca nodded. “You take care, Benji. Oh, and I’m having a small dinner party tomorrow night if you wanna join us?”

“I’ve got to help my dad with some work stuff. Thanks for the offer though.” Benji replied.

“Next time.” Beca then said as she said goodbye.

Around ten before midnight, Beca felt her sleeplessness get the best of her. Not wanting to wait until sunrise, she snuck out of her room, grabbing her phone and coat with her as she stepped out and walked towards the direction of Chloe’s house. Using the few cars parked on the street for cover, Beca watched as the time on her phone finally hit twelve before looking up to see the lights in Chloe’s room remain turned on, with her silhouette still moving around inside the slightly drawn curtains.

Beca smiled to herself, feeling a sigh of relief.

_I did it._

_I changed history._

_Chloe’s officially seventeen._

_And ‘X’ day is over._

The next day came and for the first time in a very long time – if not ever – Beca found herself having a birthday she actually enjoyed having.

She literally hugged Chloe as soon as she stepped out of the door that morning when Beca came by to pick her up, taking the redhead by surprise.

But she did soon return the gesture. “Happy birthday, Beca.” she heard Chloe say.

“Happy birthday to you too.” Beca replied.

“Ah, so you do know when it is.” she then teased as they started to head on out.

“No, I asked. I totally forgot you used to try to invite me.”

“Well, I didn’t know it was your birthday too back then. Who did you ask?”

“Stacie.” Beca replied truthfully and Chloe chuckled. “What?”

“You have no idea how relieved I am that’s your answer. I thought you broke into the administration offices or something and went to check the student records.”

“Hey, I would never!” Beca replied.

But Chloe simply smiled. “You would’ve in the past.” Chloe then noted.

And Beca would have argued but she knew Chloe was right, she would totally have.

If only to see if she could actually get away with it.

The rest of the day, Beca found herself living a day she never thought she would ever get the chance to.

 _This, this was all that I missed before…_ she thought to herself as they went about, having brunch at the café where they usually studied before visiting a bunch of different stores.

And when evening came, Beca found herself just as surprised as Chloe when she found her friends with her dad, the lot of them having decorated the house with a simple banner and a few balloons, setting the table for dinner.

Dr. Mitchell brought out two cakes – Beca’s request – for both her and Chloe. “May not be as grand as what I assume you use to have in your parties, but I hope you still like it.” she then whispered to Chloe.

Chloe smiled, looking at Beca with mix of emotions. It looked like awe and something else.

 _Something_ Beca felt like she could recognize but wasn’t quite too sure about.

They exchanged gifts after dinner, Stacie grabbing the two of them passes for the science museum and Flo gift cards at the best restaurants in town. Somehow Beca thinks there’s a theme to their gifts.

Beca gave Chloe her gift, a pair of pink gloves to go along with her red coat that made her smile even more than she had been earlier. Beca herself got a new pair of headphones from her dad to replace her old one.

The rest of the night was spent playing the board games Cynthia Rose got them both as presents, mostly because Beca vetoed watching the movies Jesse got them both.

 Yep, truly the best birthday Beca ever had.

_This was part of the moments that I let slip and pass me by._

And when the night was over, she said goodbye to each and every one of her friends just as she walked Chloe home.

It was five past ten on a cool Sunday night. There was a promise of snow the coming week but Beca didn’t mind the weather much.

All the warmth she needed came from holding Chloe’s hands. And this time, Chloe was wearing the gloves she got her.

“You’re really an idiot.” Chloe then said before taking her yellow scarf off and wrapping it around Beca’s neck. Beca didn’t really register much of what she said until she realized she was shivering. She totally forgot her coat on the way out.

Beca laughed. “I guess I got distracted.”

As they reached the door to Chloe’s house, Chloe turned around and smiled. “Your present, I’ll give it to you tomorrow, I promise. I didn’t get the chance to finish it last night.”

“Ah, so I do have a present.” Beca then joked and Chloe simply shook her head.

To make up for it, Chloe leaned in and pressed a soft kiss on Beca’s cheek. “Thank you for a wonderful day Beca.” she said before saying goodnight.

Leaving Beca a flustered, mumbling mess as she walked home all while her brain had been short-circuiting.

Still, Beca had a goodnight sleep that night with dreams of a bright tomorrow coming her way.

Only to wake up to what felt like a nightmare that Monday morning.

Chloe wasn’t at home when she swung by that morning.

She wasn’t answering her phone.

And she most definitely wasn’t at school.

Chloe was missing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See what I mean by cliffhanger-y end? :) 
> 
> Here’s a vague and not at all helpful hint, Beca most definitely had an ‘encounter’ with the kidnapper/killer at some point in this chapter. Who do you think did it? I’ve been building Bechloe up for now so the focus hasn’t been much on figuring out who it is just yet. But we’ll get there in the later chapters. 
> 
> UPNEXT: Beca makes a realization! A Revival! And the return of Amy?!


	9. Failure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca searches for Chloe and an unexpected manifestation of her abilities occur. Amy comes to Beca's aid in the nick of time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t hate me guys, I’m just following the main plot points in the story so far. I’ve only minimally seeded things, more clues and hints will come in the coming chapter (although I through in one or two here), including a major one that Beca hasn’t even thought about (honestly should have been obvious I think).
> 
> Anyways, here is chapter 9 featuring Beca suffering a loss, a bit of (reverse-)Revival, and Amy to the rescue ;)

It’s been three days.

Three goddamn days and Chloe’s still missing.

And it’s been driving Beca insane.

_What did I miss? What did I miss?_

Not a word, not a peep. And most of all, what was frustrating her more and more with each passing minute that Chloe was yet to be found was that no one even noticed.

No one even cared.

No one but her.

_What did I miss?_

She was shaken to her core at the thought of what might’ve happened to Chloe, but with each passing moment that no one knows where she is or what happened made it more and more possible that what Beca feared had actually happened.

And how?

How _did_ it happen? Was someone always lurking in the shadows, constantly watching, observing, learning to modify their plans and waiting for an opening?

How could Beca have missed that? Did she let the good things that have happened make her leave her guard down?

How could Beca even forgive herself if that were the case?

“Mitchell.” Tom greeted that Wednesday afternoon. Beca was feeling sick to her stomach. During the first timeline, it was the day Chloe was found and the knowing, the feeling that might just be a matter of time before she receives word was making her feel more and more nauseous. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for days. I’m worried about Chloe.”

“You’re worried.” Beca said, her frustrations slipping in her tone. “If you’re worried what do you think I feel?”

“I’m trying to look for her but I have no idea where to start. I’ve skipped out on working the last two days after she didn’t show Monday to check for the places she usually hung out. When she wants to be alone. Did she tell you anything?”

“What part of worried don’t you get?” Beca almost yelled out before taking a deep breath to calm down.

“Sorry, I just wanted to know if you knew where she was.” Tom replied looking at her at a loss.

Beca balled her fists inside the pocket of her hoodie, not wanting to let more of her frustrations show.

Not wanting to make it look like she was sick at the thought that she might actually know where Chloe was.

And she really did not want to find out if she was right or not.

She wanted to be wrong, more than anything else, she really, desperately, wanted to be wrong.

But thankfully, before she drove herself insane, Jesse stepped in and excused her. “She’s just really stressing out about Chloe too.” he said before leading her away and taking to talk at the corner of the library that no one ever visits.

“You’re really worried, aren’t you? Everyone heard your almost outburst there.” Jesse noted. “What’s wrong Beca? What’s gotten you worried about Chloe?” Jesse asked, doing his best to comfort her. “Did you fight or something?”

“No.” Beca said shaking her head and pressing her lips as she tried to keep fighting the tears threatening to spill out.

But she couldn’t hold it back anymore.

“Beca? Beca, what’s wrong?” Jesse asked again, tentatively taking a step closer to her. When Beca did take a step back, Jesse pulled her into a hug.

“I’m just worried, Jess. I’m worried someone hurt her.” Beca allowed herself to say as Jesse comforted her. Once she managed to get herself together again, Jesse convinced her to go talk to someone about it and promised to talk to Mr. Walp too. He stayed pretty much silent about anything else but he looked deep in thought about something.

Beca weighed her options as the rest of the day went on.

She _could_ check the one of the Applebaum’s storage freezers. She could probably trick Benji into showing her too.

But she didn’t want to pull Benji into this, she already knew that if she failed Chloe, she’d doom him too.

And Beca most definitely don’t want to see the images she had in her nightmares realized in front of her.

“Beca, are you okay?” she heard Luke ask her that afternoon as she ran into him on the way out of school.

Beca shook her head. “Is this about Chloe?” Luke then asked. “Sorry for asking, I just noticed how she’s been doing better the last two weeks and now she’s been gone a few days. Have you heard of anything?”

“No.” Beca managed to respond, her emotions still stirring all kinds of thoughts and fears deep inside of her.

Things Luke managed to pick up. “Beca, listen, Chloe will be okay, alright? Her step-mom hasn’t contacted us and she _has_ been absent for a good few days before, that’s why none of her teachers seemed too concerned. But if you think something bad has happened, if someone’s started to hurt her again, then I promise you, we will take action. Okay? I told you before, we’re you’re parents here. I’ll contact child services and the police but I need you to help me out too, okay? They’ll be asking questions, and I need you to be brave again and step up.”

Beca simply nodded, not really sure what else to tell Luke. A part of her tried to convince her that her step-mom probably hurt her again, she was gone because of bruises. She’s probably just hiding out. It was a terrible thought to have, she knew that, but it was the lesser of two evils. It meant Chloe was still alive.

And with what Luke said, it meant that they could put her step-mom away for good too.

“Have faith, Beca.” Luke then said. “It’s how we can stay strong. I’m a believer that things happen for a reason, so have faith that everything will turn out right in the end.”

Beca once again nodded before heading home to revisit her crime board, one obsessive thought going through her head.

_What did I miss? Damn it! What was it?_

She woke up early the next morning with a massive migraine for skipping out on dinner the night before. She stopped herself as she was halfway down the steps on her way to her kitchen when she caught a glimpse of Dr. Mitchell on his phone, slowly pacing back and forth.

“I see. That is concerning. And how sure are you that it’s the same person?” Dr. Mitchell asked before pausing to listen to the reply he got on the other end of the line.

_Same person?_

“Mhmm.” he went on. “I don’t know, I guess we can meet at the café in town if you _two_ are coming for a visit. I don’t think it’s a great idea to meet at the house, Beca is quite affected by what’s happening.”

Beca lingered a little bit longer, eavesdropping on her dad. She had a gut feeling what her dad was talking about with the person on the other side of the line was related to Chloe’s disappearance and the incident Beca was trying to prevent.

But it was just her luck that they changed topic then and Beca missed her chance on knowing what it was all about.

She snuck into the kitchen when she had the chance and hurried to get to the school that morning, her father’s conversation hanging on her mind.

If anything, it drove her to make sure action was being done to look for Chloe.

That’s how she found herself in Mr. Walp’s office that morning.

He simply nodded and listened as Beca expressed her concerns. “Mr. Matthews, Tom, and Mr. Swanson also came in yesterday to express their concerns. Mr. Westfield and I talked about it too. We still haven’t received any calls from Mrs. Beale, but I decided that it was best we called the authorities.”

“And?” Beca asked.

“And they’re looking into it, Beca. All we can do now is wait.” he replied. “Wait and hope.”

Beca simply nodded. “Do… do you think we’re too late?”

Mr. Walp looked at her with great uncertainty before smiling weakly. “Let’s not think that.” he replied. “I’m sure we’ll find Chloe soon Beca, and we’ll have the matter sorted. Just keep faith.”

Beca nodded and took that as her cue to leave. With no new news of Chloe that day either, Beca decided that she wouldn’t just take things sitting. She was going to get answers herself.

She toured the playground late afternoon after first swinging by the science museum. While she didn’t find Chloe then, she did saw a flyer about a missing girl. She was too consumed by Chloe’s loss that Beca didn’t even realize that Aubrey had gone missing just two days ago.

_No, no._

She was late. She messed up.

She was stuck in a helpless state as the loop of kidnapping and murders kept her in a place she didn’t want to be.

Beca ran home after that, she didn’t want to face it, the possibility it could be true that she failed Chloe.

It was one thing in the past when she was just a face in the crowd, one she admired and like. When she was still a stranger she had a crush on.

It was different now that she knew her, now that she knew Chloe’s smile, her laugh, her warmth. Now that she knew the fragile but loving soul she tried to protect from other people after everything that’s happened to her. Now that she knew her dreams, now that she’s someone who would haunt her in her memories.

Now that she was more than someone Beca just liked.

Now that Beca knew she started falling…

Beca found herself just a few steps away from the Beale’s home. The past few days had been snowing lightly every night, leaving about half an inch to an inch to accumulate on the ground. It was cold and bitter winds that blew didn’t help either. Beca adjusted Chloe’s yellow scarf around her neck – the only thing she had of Chloe left – as a kind of stillness settled down on her.

She took it a step at a time, as if with each step she’d get understanding of what had happened the night before. She saw were frozen-thawed-and refrozen footprints leading to the backyard, at least three pairs of them. One had undoubtedly been Tom’s and the other Beca’s from that morning she snuck behind to check if Chloe was in the garden shed. Her footsteps had almost disappeared but Tom’s still looked fresh.

_Wait… the third set… they’re almost gone like mine…_ Beca realized.

It was one of the things she missed during her initial frantic search of Chloe.

And she was about to investigate further when she noticed the blue trash bin just a few steps next to her, the lid slightly opened. It was filled with loads of white _Hefty_ bags from what Beca could tell.

Checking its contests, Beca felt her blood boil once more.

Chloe’s coat was there.

And the gloves that she had given her for her birthday.

Her other things too.

It was clear that her step-mother didn’t wait long to get rid of anything that belonged to her.

_They haven’t even… No one’s even sure what happened yet… her body wasn’t even found yet…_

Anger seethed through her veins at the sight of it, at the thought that someone could be as cold-hearted as her step-mom was.

_She didn’t even care she went missing, damn it!_

And Beca wished, oh she wished so hard, for that woman to get what’s coming for her.

She wished so bad she could just go back.

Because this couldn’t be it. This couldn’t be how it ends.

_Damn it all!! This can’t be it!_

Beca felt herself being sucked in by a powerful force. Everything in front of her turned pitch black before her vision was filled by the black of night instead.

From somewhere close by Beca’s ears picked up the sound of sirens, of hounds closing in.

_What the…_

Realization hit her then, looking at her bloodied hands to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

_A Revival… but why? Why send me back from her point of origin?_ she thought but fought the urge of thinking too deeply about it for now.

She needed to focus on matters at hand.

After all, everything was closing in on _her._

She was cornered but Beca wasn’t going to give up just then. She looked around for any means of escape before she decided to use an old dumpster, climbing on top of it as she jumped up to reach the ledge of the high wall behind her. The metal made some sort of sound as she did, probably alerting the officials of her location, but Beca didn’t spare any second to even make sure and double check. She used up all her strength to pull herself up that damned wall, using her legs to push her off an angle from the wall and climb up to help herself get over it faster.

It was a long way down another dark and narrow alleyway but considering her prospects Beca believed that jumping down was the best of her options. She landed with a thud, hurting her ankle in the process as she ended up putting more weight on her left foot.

Beca bit her lip, trying to stop herself from cursing loudly as she soldiered on through the alley and the awaiting street only to trip over her footing. The frustration over the entire situation kept building inside of her.

She was about to pick herself up off the ground and continue running when a thought hit her.

_What did I change? Who did I save?_

There was a throbbing ache in her chest, the pain of it resonating throughout her body, numbing whatever sensation she felt from the ankle she twisted from earlier.

_I went all through that…_

Beca did her best to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. She needed to think calmly, regroup, and figure a way out of this.

_Why… why make me miss something now when I didn’t miss anything before other than regretting chances I let slip by?_

But it was just all through much. She already hated that she wasn’t able to do anything the first time she lived through the tragic events that happened in her high school but then she had to just go and relive it.

She had the chance to prevent it from happening…

…and still she failed…

_Why cause me this pain?!_

Beca winced at the sudden brightness that filled her vision. She heard the sounds of a motorcycle approach her and come to a halt all so suddenly. Beca readied herself as her eyes adjusted to her surroundings in case she had to fight for her freedom when she saw two pairs of hands raised up in surrender standing next the bike.

“Relax Shawshank, I’m here in the hopes of helping.” she heard may say, before turning briefly to grab a helmet and toss it towards Beca.

Beca caught the helmet before it hit her in the face, her mind still trying to catch up to the things happening to her. “H-how…?” Beca asked and Amy smiled back. “And Shawshank?”

“You made breaking news Shawshank, - yes Shawshank, because aren’t you making you daring escape?” Amy replied. “They were talking about evidences quickly piling up against you and that you ran for it so I decided to look for you in case you needed help.”

“Why?” Beca asked completely at a loss about the kindness she was receiving from someone who was close to being a stranger to her if not for being coworkers.

Amy gave a dry chuckle in response. “I know what guilty people look like, Beca. They have this mad twinkle in their eyes. ‘Sides, I’m an excellent judge of character. I know you didn’t kill your papa bear.”

Beca sat on the ground staring blankly at Amy. She was completely speechless and still rather confused as to why Amy would want to genuinely help her.

“Come on Shawshank, or do you want to be caught? Let’s get a move on already.” Amy then said, snapping Beca away from her thoughts. She hopped on her motorcycle and patted the space behind her.

Beca simply nodded and proceeded to wear the helmet before hopping on.

She wasn’t sure what to do next, what her next logical step would be.

But she did know there was new kind of fury building deep inside her being born of the pain of her losses.

Whoever did this…

_…you’ll pay, **I promise.**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, we’ll still get Bechloe scenes down the line (so that’s a hint), but for now it’s time Beca gets a more concrete plan and understanding of things.
> 
> And how else can we take things into perspective but from stepping away and looking at it from the outside?
> 
> UPNEXT: Beca finds the help she needed! Amy stumbles upon a major clue! We’re introduced to Lilly, Jessica, and Ashley too!


	10. The Spider's Web

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca finds help and tries to regroup. Lilly and her friends decide to look for a new lead in their investigation of old cases that they suspect to be tied together. Amy finds the answer Beca's looking for without realizing it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Here's chapter 10. Actually pretty excited about this update because things are gonna start falling into place in terms of clues. This and the next two chapters will surely do that. Hopefully, it will help in narrowing your suspects.
> 
> That, and well, I love writing Lilly's POV's. We still have a brief Beca POV but this one's mostly Amy and Lilly.

Beca rested her head in her hands, sitting on the floor of Amy's one bedroom apartment. The two of them were the bedroom, Amy thinking it would be for the best that Beca stir cleared of the living room and dining areas just to make sure that no passing nosy neighbor would get a peak of her as Amy went in and out of her apartment. "Just sayin' Shawshank, we don't want the cops to come find you here." she said, tossing clean clothes for Beca to borrow and change into.

"I still don't understand why you're helping me." Beca then found herself saying. After all, she probably looked pretty guilty on the surface of things.

"Like I said, I know what guilty people look like Beca. My dad, well, he's not exactly one of the good guys, let's just say, that's why when I left, I never looked back. And you, Shawshank, you're innocent. My gut feeling's telling me so." she replied. "What I don't get is why people are so quick to judge you on that. You're the one hurting the most here, and then they go and chase after you like a wanted criminal."

Beca simply nodded as she processed Amy's words.

It was true, she was the one hurting the most.

She was hurting for her dad, for Chloe.

"But how are you, Beca? You've had it tough, haven't you?" Amy then asked.

"What do you mean?" Beca asked, noticing the odd way Amy phrased her question.

"Oh, well, when you locked yourself in the room while I helped your dad cook dinner, he told me the story about your old friends in high school. Sorry, I didn't mean to pry. Just got curious why you tend to push people away."

"Wait, what?" Beca asked again. "What did he say?"

"Oh, that um… well… he said that you were pretty broken about what happened to two of your friends, especially some girl named Chloe, and then to find out that the killer was a guy you were also friends with…"

"Wait." Beca then said, note letting one single detail of what Amy said escape her. "Wait, he said Chloe?"

"Yeah." Amy then said. "You're dad said you were pretty devastated when she went missing after your birthday and nothing could shake you out of your desolation until a week later they found her… well… you know… I don't really wanna bring it up in great detail because I don't know how you'll react now. He was just worried about you, about how you might still be carrying that with you."

Beca simply nodded in response. From the way Amy looked at her, she could only guess that she looked pretty terrible at the moment but she did get something out of reliving the memories of how she felt for what technically was the last few days that Beca lived before being dragged back into her time.

But it wasn't exactly the same as when she left it, no.

_I… I did change things… I changed the past… s-so… that means it's possible then…_

"You must've really loved her, huh?" Amy then noted, her voice sounding soft as she gave Beca an apologetic look.

"I… y-yeah…" Beca replied. "How'd you…"

"The look on your face when I said her name. Told you I'm a good judge of character, and the reason why is because it's my super-secret-power to read people's emotions."

"Really?" Beca then asked, partially actually believing her.

But Amy just gave her a wink and somehow Beca understood that she didn't exactly meant it literally just like her Revival ability.

"Listen, Shawshank. I'll head on out to buy some take out for dinner. Chinese sound good for you? I'll try to pick up some prepaid phone or something for you to use. I'm sure you'd need to make a few calls to people who can help you and using mine might attract attention from the cops."

"Y-yeah. Sure. Thanks Amy. And thanks for replacing my phone." Beca then replied, remembering how Amy asked her if she still had it on her while riding on her motorcycle. When Beca said yes, Amy asked for it immediately. Beca was hesitant about the idea of having Amy on the road on a motorcycle and be on her phone but she nevertheless relented. As soon as she handed her phone to Amy, she tossed it away to the side of the road as they took a turn at a dark corner road. Beca watched as some care crush it into tiny bits as it ran over the device. She wanted to be mad about it but Amy explained the obvious.

They could track her if she ended up using it.

Beca was still wary of what was happening, but if anything, Amy definitely proved to her that she could trust her.

Beca wasn't sure what she wanted to do just yet, what she should even do. A part of her was still grieving for what she had lost, for what she had failed to do, but she knew she had to figure out what exactly was happening and get some answers.

Somehow Beca knew that this wasn't the end just yet.

She'll only lose once she gives up the fight.

And like hell would she be giving up anytime soon.

* * *

 

Pretty much the every single one of the local networks still flashed periodic news updates regarding the search of one Beca Mitchell who was currently the prime suspect for her father's murder.

So far, what they knew was that the victim was stabbed with a kitchen knife and bled out to death.

Just their luck, as they were about to make a breakthrough with this case, their one and only lead was killed.

And no, Lilly didn't believe that the daughter killed Dr. Mitchell. Neither do her colleagues Ashley Jones, a private investigator, and Jessica Smith, aspiring journalist, believed that to be true.

Lilly Onakuramara was a special agent in the FBI. She got interested in a seemingly unrelated cases of kidnappings in murders about three years ago when she ran into her old college friends, Jessica and Ashley. From what the two told her, both their fathers had been digging deeper into the truth behind the tangled web of lies that separated these cases and let the true mastermind get away scot free.

Ashley's father had been a detective at the Barden Police Department at the time he was framed for killing Jessica's father, a journalist. Det. Jones, from what Ashley had shared with Lilly, had been clearing out old case records – as a punishment for something, or so Ashley claimed, during his earlier years in the force for always being so overly gung ho – when he stumbled upon a few select ones that just happened to have the same story. Believing that it couldn't possibly be a coincidence, he contacted his good friends, Mr. Smith and Dr. Mitchell, who back then, had been writing short stories on a mystery and suspense publication in town and have even been tapped into offering his view on a few cases the police department were trying to crack because of his keen eye for details.

See, here's the thing, the reason why Lilly got so interested in the case. About five years ago, a terrible killing spree took the lives of 10 young women. Five had been students from Barden University, another five were scattered around the nearby colleges and high schools. All victims shared one thing, they were loners, sort of outcasts, and they didn't have many friends or much of a social circle.

And in that case, one graduate student who was kind of a ladies man was arrested and convicted.

Except he was innocent.

And when Lilly heard the tale of what had happened back in Dr. Mitchell's hometown regarding three teenage girls who went missing and was eventually murdered, with a poor weird kid taking the blame while proclaiming his innocence, the alarm bells started ringing in her head.

Especially when she found out that Det. Jones was framed for Mr. Smith's murder after the two started digging about what they found.

That about a year before, two girls were found murdered just outside of the town they lived in. The man arrested also claiming his innocence.

And in between the period of time that separated those cases, two or three girls went missing in areas close to Dr. Mitchell's hometown, close to Barden, and more recently in the city itself where most of the possible connection the new cases had to the old ones got buried beneath all the other active killings, acts of violence, and disputes going about in Atlanta.

That's why Lilly knew.

Her instinct was screaming it inside despite her exterior calm demeanor.

It had to be just one person.

One person with the same modus operandi.

One person who was starting the kidnappings and killings again.

The person who framed Beca, killed Dr. Mitchell because he caught a glimpse of his face from an attempted kidnapping about two days ago, the person who framed Ashley's father, the person who killed all those past girls and Jessica's dad…

Yes… it was only one careful and crafty little weasel.

And Lilly...

Lilly swore she would help her friends hunt this person down.

"I wonder if she's doing okay." she heard Jessica say as she and Ashley were organizing a few files in their makeshift base of operations – a small office space for rent near some small city college campus – taking Lilly out of her reverie.

"Who?" Ashley had asked. "Beca Mitchell?"

"Yeah." Jessica then replied. "Do you think she knows something too?"

"I don't know. Dr. Mitchell said she was in the dark when you spoke yesterday afternoon, right?"

"Yeah, he mentioned that." Jessica said. "I think we should help her."

"We first have to look for her." Ashley then said, and Lilly couldn't help but agree with that sentiment.

So she stood up, grabbed her car keys and immediately headed out.

Perhaps, even with Dr. Mitchell's death, helping Beca Mitchell would lead them to a breakthrough.

* * *

 

Amy couldn't help but feel for Beca. That morning, the news was still going on and on about how she was a wanted fugitive. She helped Beca make some kind of make shift bed on the floor with a thick comforter, a blanket, and a spare pillow the night before and decided to let her rest and sleep in that morning. Poor thing had just gone through the worst possible event of her life.

Still is.

She left a note with her computer password in case she needed to use it next to the bag of bread and jar of peanut butter she left on the dining table. She also added information on her neighbors and their daily habits based on what she had observed in the past to make sure that if Beca needed to get out, she could effectively dodge them.

She trusted Beca.

And Amy knew that at that moment, she needed her help the most.

She needed a friend she could depend on.

She still couldn't shake off the tragedy that occurred though. And as much as she wished she had the power to turn back the time, she knew she couldn't change the past. They had to face the truth, and truth was that the police were looking for Beca. Truth was her father still died. And truth was Amy had to be crafty with lying about knowing anything regarding Beca at the moment, where she could be, or what her next moved would be.

Amy did well when she was interviewed by the detective in charge of the case. She told the truth as much as possible, only hiding the fact that Beca was actually hiding over at her place or that she helped her escape the night before.

It had been quite the long day after that, Amy thinking of ways to help Beca. She decided to make a list in her head as she went on her job, mostly being on the road that day with the number of orders they were getting.

The list was short. Gather evidence. Figure out what Beca's alibi could be. And most importantly, get a very good lawyer because she's mostly going to need one.

Amy made an addendum to the list late afternoon as she realized she also needed to make sure that no one would catch on any irregular activities happening in Amy's apartment, like, say, Amy can't but more food than she can consume for a daily basis when she goes for her usual take out dinners, or that Beca can't make too much noise when she's out of the house.

Because of course Amy's gonna help harbor her as a fugitive until they have a concrete next step. Beca looked quite confused and shaken the night before, she'd need all the help she could get if she wanted to clear her name.

So, for that night, Amy decided to buy take-out pizza that night from their own restaurant for dinner. They had one of those special promos with a family-sized pizza making it cheaper to get and somewhat reasonable for her to buy just for herself.

"Again, thank you so much, Mr. Westin. Thanks to your help we were able to open up shop at a premier location with ease. My father is forever grateful for that too." she heard Bumper say as Amy passed by his office on her way out.

And of course Bumper had to just catch a glimpse of her.

"Ah, Amy!" he called out. "Leaving already?"

"Yeah." Amy replied as she took a step back to say goodbye to her boss-slash-sometimes-fling. "Oh, bought a box today, hope you don't mind. I wanted to make use of our promo."

"Oh, you should have just gotten it on the house. I wouldn't have minded." Bumper replied, his mood sounding quite cheerful considering everything that's happened to one of his employees.

Amy shrugged before shifting her attention to the man in the room with Bumper. He was well-dressed in an impressive suit and Amy was dead sure he's seen his face from somewhere before.

He was quite handsome too, but something about the look in his eyes was throwing him off.

"Oh, right, this is Councilman Charles Timothy Westin. He's one of our patrons, you know?" Bumper then said.

The councilman simply smiled back at her, watching her with great interest before his eyes landed on the box of pizza she was carrying out and then finally on whatever was on the papers spread on his desk.

"Ah, that's why you looked familiar! Pleasure to meet you." Amy replied before turning her attention to Bumper again. "Anyways, gotta go and enjoy this pizza while it's hot."

"Right, see you!" Bumper replied.

Amy left hurriedly after that.

Her thought still on that weird vibe kind of a feeling that man in Bumper's office had given her.

All she knew was that she wanted to get back home as soon as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a hint. So, you know the man Amy sees? He is THE major clue she uncovers… now only if Beca saw him too…
> 
> Chloe won't return until chapter 13. I'm also looking forward to that chapter :3 That and chapter 17 for reasons.
> 
> UPNEXT: Beca meets the hodge-podge investigation team! Amy's put in danger! Beca discovers a few important clues!


	11. Lingering Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca meets the investigative team and uncovers why her father was killed. Amy finds herself in a dangerous situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for all the support so far. This chapter features quite a bit of clues with the investigative team's more in-depth description of the case files and Amy's little incident below. We have quite a bit of Ashley, Jessica, and Lilly here for sure, and hopefully we can narrow down your suspect list.
> 
> Warning: the details of how the three characters we know died will be revealed
> 
> PS: Behold, the obvious reason why Dr. Mitchell died (that honestly, Beca should have thought to be a possibility since the very beginning)…

Ashley had been trying to reach Lilly for the past hour since she just upped and left their little office space. She was only about to finally give up when their door bursts open and in comes Lilly shoving a rather disturbed, frightened, possibly traumatized, and in disguise Beca Mitchell.

Beca was wearing a rather over-sized hoodie, baseball cap, and those glasses with fake lenses. As soon as she was inside, she took a few good steps away from Lilly – they definitely had to talk to Lilly about stealthy street abductions whether it's for the good of people she took, she did that to both herself and Jessica before – and looked around to figure out where she was.

"I'm not being arrested?" Beca squeaked, still giving Lilly a warry look.

"Ah, so she at least showed you her badge." Ashley then replied dryly as she watched Jessica be quick on her feet and look after Beca.

"Come on, seat down, you're safe with us Beca." she heard Jessica say. "I'm Jessica, that's Ashley, and the one who took you is Lilly. Me and Ash, we're daughters of two of your father's old friends. We're sort of in contact with him of late too."

Beca turned to face Jessica then, the mention of her father was all it took to gain all of her attention.

They sat her down the lone armchair next to the loveseat in their office. Jessica and Ashley took the loveseat, while Lilly preferred to stay near the windows, keeping an eye of people outside. Their space was small, a whole lot cluttered with cork boards, white boards, filling cabinets, and two working desks. There was a small fridge at a corner with a microwave on top, a coffee maker, teabags, and small electronic stove on the side of their little sink at the corner with a kettle. There was an ungodly amount of ramen noodles too but, hey, who could blame them? That was the easiest thing to prepare.

Ashley quickly went over the introductions. She and Jessica were childhood friends, and as it turned out, their fathers knew Dr. Mitchell for the longest of time. When Jessica's father was murdered, her father was framed, well, their mothers were totally at each other's throats.

But the two knew better.

They were their fathers' secret keepers.

Most of the case files they had then, their accumulated research, all of it, were destroyed or stolen – so yeah, probably all were destroyed – so they had to rebuild their investigations from the start.

"And her?" Beca asked Ashley, pointing at Lilly, still a bit shaken from their encounter. "Also, what does the whole case thing have to do with me?"

"Oh, we met her in college and became friends. Lilly wanted to help us after she found out what we were doing." Jessica then said. "We want justice, Beca, I assume you want that too. See, the case our fathers were working on, it's the same case that took the lives of your friends. Of your dad. Just look around Beca, all the pictures of the girls you see on the board, the pins on the map, they're the victims. And if you look closely, you'll see your friends there too."

"I don't think I need to." Beca replied, casting her eyes on the floor. From what Ashley could tell, she was still very much affected by their deaths.

"Bottom line is we believe you. We know you've been framed." Ashley said, jumping in, and Jessica took that as her cue to grab some files form the cabinets.

"The killer, the one responsible for all the kidnappings, is very smart." Ashley went on. "From the files, it's easy to understand that he studied his victims. He knew their patterns and knew it well, their habits and all. He also studied the patsies. They fall guys. The people he set-up. He probably tried gaining their trust too, both victims and framed scapegoats."

Jessica rejoined them as she handed Beca a few thick folders, each labeled with the year of the incidents that happened.

"Before the incidents in your town, he killed a girl in her own house when her parents went away. He used coals found by the grill to set the place on fire. He blamed the boyfriend, the officials thought it was lover's spat." Jessica then said as Beca flipped through the right folder. "That's the case that Ashley's dad first found before he kept digging."

"And then he found more incidents similar to that case, a girl who's typically a loner or who only had a handful of friends, someone who usually has a lot of alone time, is the victim. He pits the crime on the guy easiest to put the blame on based on interactions, personalities, and all. He spins his own carefully crafted story as he takes himself out of the narrative." Ashley added. "And in each case the one who gets arrested proclaims innocence. Like the janitor at the school for the case in '06 where a girl was drowned in the school's swimming pool."

"And I think you know the details about what happened in your town." Jessica said in a gentle tone as she and Ashley both watched Beca gingerly take the folder. She looked paler than she was a minute earlier as she opened the folder with shaking hands and Ashley could only guess just how much it must have hurt to reopen the old buried wounds.

Beca fixed her eyes for on the contents of the folder for a while, flipping through the pages and starting from the last set of information filed there before working her way backwards. Ashley had to admit, she was rather curious as to why she was doing it.

"Hmmm, I never knew that before." Beca mumbled with a mix of emotions flashing on her eyes as she tried her best to school her face to not give much of anything away.

"What didn't you know?" Jessica asked.

"That the heating system the people who used the old storage space left behind was tinkered with at our old hang out place or that Flo suffocated because of it. She didn't deserve that. I only knew that she was found there."

"Right. The exits and entrances were all sealed too. The fact that Benji Applebaum was seen hanging out by the lighthouse near the old storage space didn't help him much. Although, why on earth would people put a heating system there in the first place? It's an abandoned storage building."

"Oh, not the original people. A bunch of high school seniors I knew when I was in middle school is what I meant." Beca replied, trying to make light conversation. "And, what's this about Aubrey? I thought her body was never found but you have a note about a lake?"

"Oh, right. That's just a recent breakthrough. It's how we got in contact with Dr. Mitchell in the first place when we were trying to rebuild our case files. I think it was about a month ago when they found three bodies in the lake. They think she's one of them."

Beca nodded before flipping back to the page before it, as soon as her eyes saw the contents, she tossed the folder away. Her hands were shaking as she hid her face behind it.

"You must have been really close to the first victim, I'm sorry you'd have to see what was written in that file." Ashley found herself saying.

"You don't have to be sorry for anything, you didn't do any of this." Beca replied through gritted teeth, her voice quivering.

"There's more. We're not sure if the man who started killing a few years before the incident in your town is the original. He might be a copycat, considering we found a similar case of two people dying the same way a good twelve years before. Lilly thinks it's the same person through and through though." Jessica then said.

"That's not the worst, if I'm being honest. I mean, I know losing the people you care about was the worst for you, but that's not the end of it. After what happened in your town, there were a few scattered killings nearby too, spaced out by a year or two. And then there was the incident in Barden University where a lot of the people we knew got killed. They called the grad student who got framed as a psychopathic mass murderer." Ashley went on.

"That's why we need your help, Beca." Jessica then added. "In the span of ten years, the person responsible for all these deaths is still out there. He never stopped. Every other year or so he'd pop back and kill a few girls, just like what he's starting to again now. We want to stop him, and you might be the only person who can help us."

Beca looked torn for a moment or two before she finally looked up. "You got any suspects?"

"Well, no." Ashley then said. "No real list. My dad did have one, but that went missing along with the old case files. He mostly based it on the people in your town then who's got possible connections to the victims. See, here's the thing, the killing sprees, we know it was committed by one person. We think this person's alone too, I don't think anyone can work with one or two more person and go on killing like this without ever being noticed by the officials. So far, our murderer has evaded capture because of stealth and cunning, because of masterful planning. And because he used different ways to kill girls each time."

"But we do think we can narrow the suspects a bit." Jessica then said. "And that's where your help is crucial Beca."

"I didn't see him." Beca replied. "I mean I did, maybe. I think I ran into him in my apartment building before he snuck off, well-dressed in a suit, but he had a hat on, covering his face. I didn't get a good look."

"No, not that." Jessica replied. "The day Dr. Mitchell was murdered, at some point during that afternoon before he was killed, he called us. Beca, he said he recognized him. He never said the name, he said it would be better if we talked about it in person, but he was clear that he  _knew_ who it was."

Beca looked at Jessica with a shocked expression upon hearing that information.

Which told Ashley all she needed to know.

Beca didn't know what her father knew, and here she thought they might have a breakthrough.

But then Beca had to go stand up, run towards the table and proceeded to scribble something frantically on the first piece of paper she could find, which just so happened to be the receipt of their last take out meal.

"Here." Beca then said, walking back to hand the paper to Ashley. "He might have an answer. He's one of the people I can think of who Chloe would trust. She was found in the Applebaum's cold storage too, right? There's one thing wrong in that report though, or at least I think." she went on, a kind of anger building in her as she spoke.

Ashley could see the fury behind Beca's eyes as she accepted the paper from her. Lilly turned her attention away from the street for a minute to pay close attention to what Beca was going to say too just as Jessica dared to ask. "What?"

"She was sprayed with close to freezing water so she would freeze to death faster. She wasn't beaten to death." Beca answered in a venom-laced tone. "It makes sense now. The footprints to the shed… that vile woman… the bruises weren't left behind by the guy who killed her…" she went rambling on as she balled her hands into fists.

"But why would the police department make that mistake?" Jessica was about to ask but Lilly seemed to have read her mind.

"Rigor mortis." Lilly said in a whisper.

And Ashley understood.

Rigor mortis was affected by temperature. Typically colder temperatures slows it down and when they saw the bruises, they must have assumed that it was the cause of death without digging any deeper. She  _had_ been missing for a few days, after all.

And that the reason the killer wanted to speed up the freezing process was to hide the time of death.

Instead of being the actual cause.

She could have been knocked out with ether or something and left there to die, that way no other DNA evidence was left behind, just the clues that he decided to use to throw the authorities off his scent. Including the footprints that matched the specific boots the food service company had.

"There is only one name." Ashley then said as she saw what was on the paper.

"He's the only one I can think of who would know where to find Chloe and take her." Beca replied. "And in case I'm actually wrong, he's the only other person who could help and tell you who else knew Chloe was in the shed. I… I just can't accept it if it were him… I don't understand why he would… But I know for sure he can illuminate a few things we're still in the dark about. But if it were, I promise I'd pummel his face to the ground." she went on. Beca took a minute to keep herself calm after that before made a move towards the door.

Lilly stopped her, grabbing her hand, but it was Jessica who articulated their concern. "Beca, wait. Don't do anything stupid. You still need to be careful. This person knows who you are. He had a face to come along with the name, so I'm sure he had an easy time to track you down because of it. He knows how you move, he knew your schedule enough to know you wouldn't be home when he came in to kill your dad."

"Someone I knew… someone I knew and possibly trusted with the wrong information… he killed them… hurt them…  _her_ …" Beca replied, doing her best to keep herself calm.

"Spider." Lilly then whispered.

And Ashley couldn't help but agree. "Beca, this man is cunning, patient, and calculated. He's like a hunter like Lilly said. He's like a spider who lets their prey get tangled in the web he spins and he waits. He waits until they're stuck helpless, when their guard is down, before he strikes. You need to be careful of your next step."

Beca huffed before slowly taking in a deep breath to calm herself down. "I won't. But I'm worried that someone else I know might be put in danger just because she helped me. If this person knew my schedule, it means he knows the place where I work, right? It means he knows the people I work with. Besides, if I can talk to her and figure out if she's seen that person I listed on that piece of paper, then it's worth a shot talking to her about it right?"

"So I reckon you'll help us?" Jessica then asked, sounding hopeful.

Beca had given a perplexing reply that Ashley assumed was a 'yes' or at least the closest thing to one. "I want justice too, truth be told I just want to know who it was so I can figure out a way to stop it." she replied before she asked Lilly to let her go.

"Here, call us if you find anything. We're here to help you too Beca." Ashley then replied, hurriedly jotting down her number on the bottom of the slip with the suspects Beca gave her and tearing it off.

"Right, our fathers were friends, so maybe we can be too?" Jessica then asked.

Beca simply nodded and kept the paper with her before heading out.

 _We're close, dad. We're so close. We'll finally get him._ Ashley thought as she watched Beca carefully leave and head out of the building from the window.

* * *

 

Amy was fuming as she entered her apartment. She just got off her own ride when she noticed the motorcycle following her. Immediately, she marched towards her stalker, who turned out to be Bumper, and grabbed the phone in his hands. One more number and she was sure that he would have been successful in calling the cops.

So Amy smashed the phone, tossing it to the ground. "Hey!" Bumper exclaimed.

"Why did you follow me?" she asked.

"Look, Amy, I think we both know and understand that you're fond of Mitchell. You bought pizza from our place, for crying out loud."

"So what, I like pizza!"

"Yeah, but you got Beca's favorite toppings for a full half-side of it. You're not exactly a fan of the same toppings she likes. I know your orders, I  _am_  your boss."

"And you're just gonna go and turn your back on Beca like that?! She needs us!"

"But Amy, she…"

"I thought you're smarter than this, Bumper. Trust me, I have a feeling that if she would pick a victim, it would be you she kills not her own papa."

Bumper looked away, ashamed by what he had almost done before looking back at Amy apologetically. "Sorry, I just wanted to do the right thing. I didn't want you to get hurt."

"I can take care of myself." Amy proudly replied before leaving the man she considered an idiot behind.

Amy set the box of pizza on her table before immediately heading to her bedroom after that to check on Beca but she still wasn't back. She tried calling her at the burner phone she had given her friend earlier but she didn't answer.

She tried a few more times after changing into something more comfortable. Beca still wasn't answering the calls but her phone did buzz with a message from her.

_Meet you at your place. Don't leave and stay put. Found a breakthrough._

_-B_

At first Amy breathed a sigh of relief.

But then she saw who the message was from.

The name in the contacts… it was from Dr. Mitchell's phone.

And Beca most definitely did not have that in her possession before, so how?

Amy didn't have that much long of a time to figure it out though. As soon as she stepped outside of her bedroom, she felt something hit her in the back of her head.

The next thing she knew, she was waking up with a massive headache.

And all she could see was a literal blaze of red, orange, and yellow as the roaring flames started creeping around her apartment, consuming everything in sight.

* * *

 

Beca woke up that morning from a nightmare. Everything had been so perfect, she was with Chloe, the redhead smiling and laughing again.

She was free.

But then a creeping shadow started to fill her vision, wrapping Chloe up in its clutches as it dragged her away from Beca.

Somehow that was still what it felt like.

She changed minor things and that was it. End result, she still lost.

And Beca wanted to go back again. She did. If she had one more shot at this, she would take it. She would make it worth it.

Especially now that she knew she let her guard down.

That she wasn't able to protect Chloe from the worst of them all.

If only her useless ability she didn't really know how to control would just cooperate with her right then.

Because this time, she knew what she had to do.

 _Come on, universe!_ Beca wanted to scream out loud.

Because what good did having the power to turn back time have if you can't use it to protect the people you care about?

Or was it because, she just couldn't leave yet… that she couldn't leave this time.

To be honest, to Beca, it sometimes felt like some greater power was simply just moving her around different scenes in the stream of time.

It felt like a movie in her head.

Which was ironic considering how much she hated movies.

Beca was careful on her way back, her thoughts still on the fact that the person responsible for all of this was indeed someone she knew.

That's how she found herself standing on the side of the road, blending with the crowd as she watched in horror to the now burning apartment building.

Beca didn't spare any second thought, she's already lost so many people

She wasn't going to let anything happen to Amy too.

And with that, she rushed headlong into fiery arms that await her hoping against all hope she wasn't too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We'll check in on Amy immediately at the start of the next update, I promise. Also, there are two conflicting clues here that's born out of Jessica's copy-cat statement. If you compare one of Beca's assumptions and Lilly's assumption, hopefully you'll find what doesn't fit and you'll narrow things down more. One of them is correct. Sorry for the vagueness but the answer isn't that far away anymore.
> 
> Keep your guesses coming, I love hearing your theories on who the killer is and your reasoning/why you suspect them as we go on with the story ;) You can reach me through tumblr (thehypotensivegrad) if you wanna have a discussion about it. ;) If I'm impressed by your reasoning, I'll let you know if you got it right.
> 
> For those waiting for Aubrey's debut, you only need to wait three chapters more. ;) A shorter period of waiting time is needed for Chloe :D
> 
> UPNEXT: Amy faces imminent threat both in her life and her freedom! Lilly and Jessica get closer to the truth! And Beca makes one last desperate attempt to right all the wrongs of the past!


	12. Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's out of the frying pan and into the fire for Beca as she rushes to save Amy! Jessica and Lilly are on the verge of a breakthrough as they find themselves on the cusp of unmasking the killer, but would it be too late by the time they get to the truth?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Here's chapter 12. We check in on Amy. The investigation team figures out where the killer is… well… sort of… you'll see what I mean…

The entire building was being engulfed by the flames. Beca wasn't entirely sure how she managed – she reasoned it was probably thanks to the adrenaline rushing through her veins then – but she soon found herself outside Amy's apartment. Fire licked the sides of the frames and when Beca kicked down the door she found herself being greeted by a blazing inferno.

_The fire started here. Damn it, Amy!_

Beca didn't spare a thought on what might happen to her, all she could think about was how she didn't want to lose anyone else. She rushed towards the flames and past it, running towards Amy was laid unconscious just outside her bedroom door.

Beca rushed to her, kicking some small black device on the floor along the way. She made a detour two steps away from Amy to pick it up, recognizing it was her father's phone. She quickly shoved it in her jeans pocket – there will be time for that later – before going straight to Amy's side.

Beca coughed out, the heavy smoke in the air was starting to suffocate her too but she fought off any thoughts about dying then or failing to save Amy. "Amy… Amy!" Beca shouted, shaking her a bit to see if Amy would respond.

"Mmmmm… Shawshank…" Amy replied, coming in and out of it. While Beca was relieved that Amy was indeed still alive, she was painfully aware of the struggle she'd have to face to get her out to safety.

But as if her prayers and wishes were answered, she saw the wall behind her, the one that separated Amy's and her neighbor's respective living rooms, being brought down by an axe.

"AMY!" she heard Bumper say, breaking through the escape path he carved for himself. "Mitchell! What are you doing here?"

"Forget about it… can you help me get Amy out?" Beca asked in between coughs.

"Yeah, yeah. I've got her." Bumper said as he rushed to her side and begun to help Beca get Amy up. "Help me get her down then get out of here, you hear me? We can't let the authorities catch you. Amy would kill me."

Beca simply nodded, not wasting any effort in asking what Bumper said. It was a struggle for the two of them but they managed to get Amy down. Bumper showed the side entrance he sneaked into. "You know I'll get the credit for this and you don't even care, don't you?"

"Don't be an idiot and just get her out." Beca replied flatly and Bumper nodded.

"I've got her, and Beca? I believe you." Bumper then found himself saying.

Beca watched as Bumper started heading to the closest exit, some silhouette from the far side of where Bumper was standing indicated that actually trained firemen were on it too. Beca soon found herself running out the exit Bumper showed her before her path was completely blocked.

And Beca kept running until she was a good distance away, fishing her burner phone and calling Ashley's number before collapsing.

When she woke up she was once again in the office of the hodge-podge investigative team. She was on their loveseat, a tiny oxygen tank to her side as she noticed the mask attached on her face. "Got to say Lilly, you never seem to amaze me." she then heard Ashley say as she noted Beca waking.

Somehow Beca knew she was alive because of some quick thinking from Lilly. She coughed a bit more as she pulled her mask down, getting up a bit, wanting to say something.

"Relax Beca, we got you. Don't worry about it. Rest now, we can talk later." Jessica then said, rushing to her said and placing a hand on her shoulders as she ushered Beca to lay back down.

Beca didn't resist much, her body craving rest.

But it didn't stop her mind from thinking, it didn't stop her instinct from knowing, this was planned.

The same man who killed her father, who killed Chloe, and Flo, and that girl Aubrey, and who framed Benji and many more innocent people, he did this to Amy.

And Beca knew and understand three things from that.

One, Amy was targeted because she came across something.

Two, he had followed her home, and he possibly dropped the phone to get it far from himself and hoped it got destroyed.

And three, this was far from over.

He played with their lives for far too long.

Beca knew, she won't stop until he takes this man for good.

* * *

"Amy saw him, she had to. Or possibly ran into him or gave him a reason to kill her." Beca had said that morning as she they talked about whatever new piece of info they managed to get.

Jessica had been quick to note anything and everything down, just in case they miss something in their discussions that proved to be crucial. She also recorded their conversation on the phone and was currently listening to it, her earbuds on, as she and Lilly headed to the hospital. Beca was out on her own, digging for some clues, and Ashley was following a lead on the name Beca had given them.

Some guy named Thomas Matthews.

"No prints on the phone, he was careful with that as much, but he made it a point to have Amy stay at home by texting her as you on that phone." Ashley had then said. "He probably left it in the hopes of getting it destroyed or framing you as the culprit even more if the phone was found."

"Wait, why do you think Amy saw him?" Jessica asked then.

"Well, if he followed us the night before and wanted to plant the phone as evidence against me, he could have just killed Amy that night, make sure we both were knocked out or something. I'll wake up to a dead body or get waken up by to get detained by the police already if he causes enough noise to wake the neighbors. It would have been perfect, everyone was sleeping, and no one, not a single soul would have noticed him. So why didn't he?"

"Ah, that's why you think they saw each other that morning and Amy must have done something to make him think she knows where you were." Ashley had then replied.

"I need to know what Amy found out." Beca then replied. "You're right after all, I think the person framing me knew my work schedule. Maybe that's why he thought Amy would be a threat to her one way or another."

Jessica paused her recording and took her earbuds off as they finally reached the floor where Amy was being kept. Due to her connection to Beca as a coworker and as the only person who visited her when she was hospitalized, the authorities were all keeping an eye on her.

"Poor gal. Are we sure that they're accomplices though?" one of the officers outside Amy's door said.

"That's the only thing that fits." the other officer replied.

_Idiots._ Jessica then thought to herself as Lilly flashed her badge. The two officers looked at each other and let them pass.

The lights on the room were off, with the window slightly open, letting in a gentle breeze inside. Amy was currently all covered up under the bedsheets.

Jessica was about to approach her when Lilly stopped her. "What?" she asked and Lilly raised one finger before pointing to the IV drips, one of the needles hanging on the side of the bed.

Lilly stealthily approached the bed and swiftly pulled the covers down, revealing a man who had yelped before pulling the covers on himself. He was dressed in a hospital gown, complete with a fake blonde wig.

Lilly tore the pillows away from him and pinned him down to the bed in one swift maneuver after he tried to escape. "Amy." was all Lilly had to utter and the man before him started squealing the answers Lilly was looking for.

"Gone, said she needed to meet with someone." the man said before trying his best not to shout as Lilly twisted his arm. "I really can't tell who! Please!"

"Is it who we think it is? It's okay, we're  _her_  friends." Jessica then said.

"Then tell your friend to let me go!" the man whined, trying his best to keep his voice low.

Lilly relented and once she did, he turned around to face them properly. "Name's Bumper, by the way, Bumper Allen."

"Look, we need to get in touch with Amy. She might now who's trying to frame Beca."

"Yeah, like I said, she left. She called me here to pretend to be her for now. She said she needed to reach her too."

"So do you think they're on the way to meet each other?" Jessica asked before hearing a  _tsk_ from Lilly. "What is it?"

"Too risky. Let's hope for a pay off if they do." she whispered.

"What's going on?" Bumper then asked. "Maybe I can help? I want to help. Beca risked her own life to save Amy after all."

"I don't know. Do you know the place they work?" Jessica then asked.

"I do. I'm the manager, my dad's the owner." Bumper then replied and Jessica couldn't help but believe their luck. She grabbed Bumper by the shoulders and looked straight into his eyes with a smile.

Honestly, Jessica could just hug him at that moment.

"Yes!" Jessica exclaimed. "Did you notice anyone weird snooping around where you work, say maybe sneak in the offices or something? We're looking for any person with access to your employee's schedules that were not supposed to have that access."

"No one suspicious has been around, I would know. Besides, I'm in my office most of the time and that's where I keep the complete schedule." he replied, looking at Jessica curiously.

"Then did anyone visit you in that office?" Jessica followed up, releasing Bumper.

"Oh, just the councilman of our district. He's been a patron at our restaurant for the longest of time. He helped my dad open the place." Bumper answered truthfully. "He's rarely been there but he  _has_ shown up the last two days, mostly talking business."

"Your councilman… who's the councilman on your district? Is it a guy named Thomas Matthews?"

"What? No, his name's Charles Timothy Westin, Charlie for short. Who's Thomas Matthews anyways?" Bumper replied.

Jessica frowned. That name didn't really ring any bells for her.

But then Lilly fished for her phone and proceeded to call Ashley. "Come on, we've got to move." she whispered and Jessica followed her.

It seemed Lilly has found the clue she needed from Bumper's reply.

* * *

Beca checked the message on her burner phone, a simple flip phone that reminded her of her old one. Amy said to meet under the Krog Street bridge, dark, a bit grungy in its vibe, but perfect for concealed meetings.

Amy was about to ten minutes late already and somehow Beca felt sick at the thought that she might have fallen into a trap.

So she tried to remain as vigilant as possible.

She had a few first degree burns from the fire, her body ached and her skin still stung a bit but otherwise she was okay. She was still coughing a little too, but she was alive for now.

Beca held her father's phone in her other hand, clutching onto it tightly, her thought still on the text the murderer sent using his phone.

The gall of that man who killed him.

The audacity really. The wallpaper on his father's old BlackBerry was a picture he took of Beca and her friends during her birthday. Flo was there, standing between Stacie and Cynthia Rose to Chloe's right. Chloe herself was standing next to Beca, smiling lightly as she turned to look at Beca who tried to pretend she was annoyed for her father being all persistent about taking the photo. To her left was Jesse, trying to make pull Beca's cheek so she would smile.

Two of the people he wronged was there on the screen, calling out to him, making him remember his crimes.

But that didn't even stop him.

He didn't care.

They were just ghosts to him.

Beca still wasn't sure who he was, but she swore he would pay. She was keeping faith in Lilly, Jessica, and Ashley, faith that they could uncover the truth behind everything. She was very much annoyed to find out that Tom didn't keep any social media accounts – but then again, she didn't either – because then it could have been easier to reach out to him and find him.

And now Beca had to think about some stupid councilman she didn't know. She never really paid attention to politics on any scale of government, so how the hell would she know who this Charles Timothy Westin was? Lilly sent her a text that simply asked her if the name sounded familiar.

The answer was no, obviously.

And Beca would think that it was someone she knew who and that name wasn't their real name, but then again he's a politician. He couldn't use a fake name and hold office.

Beca checked her phone again.

_Fifteen minutes now_. she thought to herself as she started feeling antsy.

She was about to leave, thinking it would be for the best, but then she caught a glimpse of Amy running towards the dark shadows the bridge offered Beca. "Sorry Shawshank…" Amy said as she tried catching her breath. "Still nearly got toasted, you remember, you were there… Had to make sure I wasn't being followed for my grand escape. Besides, cardio was never my strong suit."

"No worries. How are you, Amy?" Beca asked.

"Not gonna lie, I had better days." Amy replied. "But I had to see you, I needed to tell you something."

"That someone was in your apartment, that someone is potentially the same person who framed me, and that he texted you from my dad's phone?" Beca provided.

"How did you know?!" Amy then replied. "Now I feel like this meeting was a moot point."

"I found the phone which was thankfully not destroyed yet." Beca replied, showing her the BlackBerry. "Listen, Amy, do you know anyone named Charles Timothy Westin?"

"Yeah, the councilman. He's quite handsome, but there's this weird look in his eyes, I don't know, just don't like him."

"You've met him?" Beca then asked. "How? Where?"

"At the restaurant. He was there that afternoon, I saw him in Bumper's office before heading out with our take-out pizza, such a shame really. I got your faves too for the half of it."

_The pizza! That could have clued him in if he found out from anyone else what it was!_

"Amy… I… I think he's the guy we're after. The one who tried to kill you last night." Beca then said, "Do you know how he looks like?"

"I can look him up, I'm sure he's got a pic online." Amy then said, before fishing for her phone.

But before she could even finish typing the name, Beca heard the sirens that were suddenly closing in on them. Both she and Amy stayed alert, seeing officers flood them on both sides of the street. "Beca Mitchell, you're under arrest for your father's murder, attempted murder of your accomplice, and arson." she heard someone on a megaphone say.

And Beca knew resisting was futile, but Amy still tried to fight back some of the officers.

But she was immediately overpowered.

_Damn it! We're so close…_

Beca relented, it would be for the best if she didn't fight back. "I'm sorry, Beca, I'm sorry. Someone must've seen me and I wasn't able to shake off my trail." she then heard Amy say.

Beca simply shook her head. "Call Ashley Jones, she's a PI. Tell her I need a lawyer." Beca said as a detective cuffed her. They were ushering her away from the dark shadows under the bridge and out into the bright of day outside when Beca stopped and turned to Amy.

"And thank you, thank you for believing in me." Beca then added, just in case she never gets the chance to say it again.

Beca saw Amy smile sadly at her. She was trying her best to stay strong and show she's still determined to help Beca before the detective who cuffed her pushed her towards one of the police cars waiting for them.

_Damn it. Damn it all._ Beca thought as they walked towards the car.

_It would be really nice if you work again._

_One more time._

_Come on universe!_

_One more time!_

Just as she was about to enter the car, Beca saw the gathering crowd around the bridge.

That's when he spotted him.

A well-dressed man in a suit, a hat angled in a way that most his face was being covered.

Except for that self-satisfied smirk on his face that Beca wanted to wipe off.

It was him, the man he was looking for.

If only Beca could see who it was.

_Damn. Damn it!_ Beca thought, shrugging off the detective and deciding to make a run for it towards that man.

The officers on the scene were quick to respond in trying to detain Beca but Beca wouldn't let herself be deterred from reaching her goal.

She was close, so close.

_Come on!_

He was right there, right within reach.

_One more time!_

Beca shouted out loud as she felt her frustrations overwhelm her. Fire and fury filled her as she rushed to get free.

_Please!_

She needed to see his face.

Because past or present she'll expose him.

_One last Revival!_

"One last time!" Beca shouted out loud as she started to get over powered.

And just as she was about to be shoved inside the car, everything in front of her disappeared.

Beca felt some force pulling her, something like gravity snatching her in that moment and placing her someplace it deemed fit.

And when lights started to fill her vision again, Beca had to blink a few times before the scene before her made any sense.

"What's wrong?" she heard Chloe ask, as she squeezed Beca's hand to get her attention.

The two of them were in the science museum, standing in front of the evolution exhibit.

Beca stared at her speechless as she was taking everything in. Chloe's smile, her blue eyes, that little scar on her forehead, everything about her that she thought she would never get to see again.

Truth be told, just the fact that she could feel Chloe's hand holding her own was a little too much for Beca to process at the moment.

So much so that she couldn't do much of anything else but pull Chloe into a tight embrace, taking Chloe by surprise as she held onto her for dear life. "Beca, are you okay?" Chloe asked.

And by God, Beca missed her voice.

"I'm perfect." Beca murmured as she leaned onto Chloe's shoulder, still not letting her go. She felt Chloe hold her close as well, resting her head on Beca's own.

Beca wished she could freeze time just then. Because she knew this moment she was reliving, she knew she barely had anytime left before the moment Chloe disappeared.

"Oh-hooo, what do we have here." they then heard Stacie say.

_Right, they arrive at this point._  Beca thought as she reluctantly let Chloe go.

"Hope we're not interrupting anything but the party got boring." Stacie then said with a suggestive tone.

"Wow, Beca, didn't know you're so brave with openly displaying your affection for Chloe like that." Flo then commented, making Beca blush deep red as she briefly looked away.

"Okay, you two, behave. Don't tease." Cynthia Rose then said. "And that includes saying your thoughts out loud, Flo."

"Sorry, I'm just admiring the bravery." Flo then replied.

"I suppose we should all go out to dinner then? The place is closing soon." Beca then replied, remembering how their conversation went the last time around.

But before they could even suggest going to the place she knew her friends would decide on, Beca decided to make a different suggestion instead.

Because she was dead-set on changing everything she can this time around. "How about that Thai place a few blocks away?"

Jesse, on the other hand, just looked at Beca curiously. "You hate Thai food. You're not fond of their spices."

"I can always try new things." Beca quickly replied. "'Sides, I'm sure I can find something on the menu that would suit me fine."

Jesse simply nodded although it didn't seem like he fully bought her reasoning. "Hey Beca, can you show me the restroom before we leave? Don't want to get lost."

"Uh, yeah… sure…" Beca replied, reluctant to leave Chloe's side.

Still, she went with Jesse alone as the two hurried to the restroom near the stairwell leading up to the astronomy room. Jesse stopped just in front of it, turning to Beca with a serious look on his face. 'Who are you?" he then asked, catching Beca off guard with his question.

But then Jesse explained himself. "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that you're changing a lot for the better, if you are Beca, but lately you haven't been acting like yourself at all. I thought I was crazy when I started to notice it a few weeks ago, but more and more the change just seemed too drastic, I can't help it. I reasoned to myself it's because you're starting to realize your feelings for Chloe, but now… something's off, I don't know what, but I can tell there is. So, what's going on?"

"Jesse…" Beca started to say, still speechless as she wracked her mind for an answer that didn't make her sound crazy. "I… I…"

"Who are you?" Jesse repeated.

And Beca found she couldn't quite find the words to answer.

Because who had she become at this point?

Jesse was right in saying she wasn't who she was before.

So who was she now that she's relieved her past multiple times now?

And just who was she going to be?

The same Beca who failed?

Or the one who succeeds?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Pt 2: Told you guys that we'll see Chloe again (you guys didn't think I'd actually leave her fate sealed now, did you?)!
> 
> BTW, the councilman is totally the killer. He changed his name. I know I had Beca say that he couldn't use a fake name because he is councilman serving office but we'll get to that later on.
> 
> PS: Beca should just tell Jesse she's still Becky from the block… just from the future… how well do you think he'll take that? :P (Sorry for the lame joke, I had a long day in lab today…)
> 
> UPNEXT: Daring plans! A partner in crime! And a new kind of kidnapping?


	13. Repeated Scenes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca comes up with a idea to ruin the killer's plans and save Chloe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Remember when I mentioned a Bechloe scene with a song? It’s in this one!
> 
> So, here is chapter 13 featuring Beca’s last chance, a new ally, what might as well be a shaky plan (but Beca’s willing to play with risks this time if it gives her the results), and the song “You’ll Be Safe Here” by Rivermaya (give it a listen to, you won’t regret it).

She had twenty four hours.

Freaking twenty four hours and that was it.

Well, more or less.

Beca was pacing back and forth in her room. It was fifteen past twelve, and she had just managed to sneak back into her room, making sure that the light in Chloe’s room was still on just like last time.

She needed to come up with a plan to save Chloe, that was priority number one, otherwise she was going to die again and Beca just couldn’t really take that happening for a third time, especially when she’s got this unshakable feeling that this might just be her last chance, to save her, to save them all. This was her last revival.

She stopped for a minute to look at the crime board she made the last time she tried saving her friends, now fully updated, especially with priority number two and three, that is, make sure Benji has an alibi tomorrow night and figure out who the hell Charles Timothy Westin is.

Beca chuckled, it was like she really was trying to be a hero.

Just like what she said to Jesse earlier that night.

“I’m a superhero.” Beca had settled on as an answer to Jesse. She really couldn’t tell him the uncontrollable time travel fiasco that was her Revival, Jesse would think she was insane. He could already tell that she wasn’t being her usual self. “Or at least I’m trying to be one.”

But Jesse, he didn’t laugh. He looked at her dumbfounded.

Beca decided to dial it back down a little when Jesse just stood there speechless. “I just, I wanna be more like you guys. More like the best of what you are. I guess I’m afraid life would pass me by and I’ll regret all the things I never got the chance to do. What if tomorrow someone I care about disappears form my life? What if tomorrow, a stranger I didn’t know but could have become someone important to me is killed in an incident? You know, things like that. I wanna be braver because I don’t want to miss out, even if I have to just pretend to be brave for a while. I think the more we pretend, well, eventually things would turn out to be real.”

Jesse had simply nodded back then and smiled back at Beca weekly. “You already are Beca, a hero that is.”

“What do you mean?” Beca had asked him.

“You know, I think it’s funny how we see a lot of things every day in our lives but we pretend to be blind until it becomes second nature to us. Until we’re all cowards because we’re more focused on ourselves.”

“You’ve lost me Jess.” Beca remembered telling him. Beca wasn’t sure what Jesse had been trying to tell her, for a brief second she even considered that maybe, maybe he knows the killer.

That maybe he knows but won’t do anything to stop him.

And could it have been guilt that prompted Jesse to talk to Mr. Walp to raise concern over the missing Chloe that last time she’s lived through this?

Beca felt ashamed to even consider the thought, but she had to be careful after all.

In the end, it wasn’t what Jesse was talking about.

“I know about the bruises, Beca, I’ve seen it too. Once or twice. I noticed it during the holidays but I didn’t know what to do or who to talk to. In the end I thought it might have just been caused by an accident or at least I convinced myself. I was too afraid to speak up. But then saw, didn’t you? And you acted fast. That’s what you really talked about with Mr. Walp then, wasn’t it?” Jesse had explained.

In truth, Beca tensed up with that info. She didn’t consider other people knowing anything.

“You know about Chloe…” she had mentioned, sounding rather protective of her.

“Just the bruises. I thought it would be safer for me to keep my head down.” Jesse admitted, sounding incredibly guilty. “You know more, don’t you? You don’t need to tell me anything, I just thought, maybe that’s why you started to change more.”

Beca had stayed silent for a moment or two before Jesse took a deep breath and took a step closer. She really didn’t know what to think then. “Beca, I’m sorry for the weird question earlier. I just wasn’t sure what it was that was going on with you, and you looked incredibly shaken earlier despite trying to hide it, like you’re afraid of something and you want to protect Chloe.”

“I do want that.” Beca had found herself saying.

“So why were you worried?” Jesse had pressed on.

“I just have a bad feeling.” Beca had said.

“Well, if you any help, you have me.” Jesse said with a smile. “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to be a hero like you.”

Beca wasn’t sure what those words meant then. At the moment, she didn’t know who she could trust.

She needed to think, it was gonna be a long day ahead.

So she grabbed her trusty headphones, opened up her old program and started to make a few mixes to clear her head.

She needed a concrete plan this time, play it smart.

She can’t let her guard down.

But she can’t do the same things she did the last time.

She knew she can’t go at this alone.

“You’re on probation.” Beca said to Jesse the next morning as the two met at the playground nearby. She was still going to pick Chloe up for a day out, but she decided they skip a few things for the sake of keeping her safe.

“Okay.” Jesse then found himself saying while stifling a yawn, it was still six in the morning after all. “I felt a sense of urgency when you called me, that’s why I showed up here as soon as you called. Also, how did you wake up so early? You’re Beca ‘I hate mornings’ Mitchell, or is this part of the hero thing?”

“Simple, I didn’t sleep.” Beca replied. “I couldn’t even if I tried.”

“Why, what’s wrong Beca?”

“I feel like something bad is gonna happen. To Chloe, in particular. And that thing’s happening tonight.” Beca answered, still trying to keep things under wraps.

“That is oddly specific.” Jesse noted. “Okay, and what can I do to help?”

“First, by any chance, do you know someone with the name of Charles Timothy Westin?”

Jesse shook his head. “No, but I know people having parts of that name.”

“What do you mean?” Beca asked.

“Benjamin Timothy Applebaum. Timothy is Benji’s middle name.” he edified. “Then there’s a detective named Charles Jones. His been in contact with my dad lately, he’s a lawyer you see. Mostly just asking what prosecuting someone with a particularly strange case would be like.”

 _Stupid bastard’s trying to flaunt it in our faces then…_ Beca thought as Jesse continued his explanation. “And there’s a Councilman Westin in Atlanta, Mark Westin. Political family I believe. My dad met him a few times before.”

“What do you know about him?” Beca pressed on.

“Oh, not much. I think he has a daughter in Barden University taking a Master’s Degree. Only child I believe. He’s an eclectic guy and he’s very peculiar about a few things from what I heard from my dad.”

“So, no sons?” Beca then asked and Jesse shook his head. “Nephews?”

“No sons. As for nephews, I don’t know.” Jesse replied. “Why?”

“Uh, nothing much.” Beca then gave as an excuse. “The name popped up somewhere, I must have just misunderstood what I heard or something.”

Jesse nodded, accepting what Beca said. “So, is there a second thing?”

“I kind of need your help with something a little bit crazy.” Beca replied, sounding unsure of herself, but it was the only thing she could come up with.

She wasn’t sure how changing things, whether to the extreme or not, could affect how events unfolded. She did change a few things the last time during her first Revival to this time, but she still needed up stuck in the loop of the kidnappings and murders.

So this time, Beca thought, she wasn’t going to settle with changing things.

Instead, she would focus on controlling the circumstance of the things that unfold before her.

“Is it something crazy enough that it might just work?” Jesse then asked as a joke and when he saw Beca was indeed serious, he cleared his throat and adopted a more serious tone as well. “Beca, I told you, I’m, here to help. The answer hasn’t changed.”

“Good, cause we might be facing a whole lot of trouble with this. Good thing your dad’s a lawyer, huh?” Beca then replied before planning things out with Jesse.

The rest of the day turned out to be about the same. After talking things through with Jesse, she swung by to pick up Chloe, the two going around town just like the last time. Beca actively chose different places to go, however, and different shops to enter. She wanted so much to enjoy this time with Chloe, and in some moments she would, she would forget of what was waiting ahead of them and get lost in the lightness that she felt, in the shining blue of Chloe’s eyes, or that light smile playing at the corner of her lips. She’s started changing too, Beca could tell, from how she was since the last few months when she had been drowning in her own inescapable sorrows.

But it was the same thoughts that made her vigilant, making her look around her shoulder, and pay close attention to what was going on around them.

They stayed out a bit longer, as Jesse planned with Beca, and when it was time to go back home for the dinner party, Beca had asked Jesse to drag Stacie with him and pick Chloe up at the ice cream parlor she had planned on going that afternoon.

She’d ask only Jesse, but truth be told, Beca still wasn’t so sure if she trusted him or not. She hasn’t had the chance to look into the info she got form Jesse, and Beca wasn’t entirely sure if any of them were true, but she did know that she wanted to.

Jesse looked totally broken when Benji got arrested the first time around. They had been childhood friends even though Benji grew more painfully shy and Jesse had become more outgoing. They still hung out but not as frequent as they used to.

So Beca wanted to hold out to that hope that Jesse wasn’t putting an act on.

That it wasn’t him.

Still, she figured having Stacie as a buffer wouldn’t be so bad.

The sun had just set when the two finally met up with Chloe and Beca herself. “I don’t get it, where you going right now, Beca?” Stacie had asked when they arrived. “Your dad’s expecting you home soon.”

“I… well, I just realized I forgot something at school.” Beca then said.

“Do you really need it now?” Stacie asked as Chloe turned to look at her curiously.

Beca took a deep breath. “Yes, it’s kind of _important_. It can’t wait tomorrow.” she replied, wanting to imply that what she needed to get had something to do with the party.

More than that, she was hoping that Stacie would think she forgot Chloe’s birthday gift.

“Oh, okay. Sure. Just hurry up will you?” Stacie then replied. “We’ll wait for you here instead.”

Beca looked at Stacie with her brows furrowed together. She didn’t get why she would be too stubborn…

… _oh, wait, yes you do… the surprise for the party decorations and stuff, she doesn’t want to ruin it for me and Chloe…_

So Beca simply nodded and ran as fast as she could to the place she was actually heading too.

She had already prepared the piece of paper earlier, all she needed was to find a huge piece of rock she could wrap the paper around.

Beca used the dimly lit street outside of the Applebaum’s main office as she found her perfect piece of rock and enacted her plan. She tossed the rock towards one of the windows on the first floor where she could still see the lights on. In exactly two minutes, she saw Benji’s dad rushing outside, he looked about ready to leave himself by the way he was dressed so nicely, followed by Benji who was still wearing his uniform. The two were trying to figure out who could have broken their window with a note that said ‘Die!!!’. Beca hid behind a corner wall to make sure she isn’t seen. Soon, she saw Mr. Applebaum call the police and Beca breathed a sigh of relief.

Benji didn’t have an alibi last time because he was working alone that night, with his father having left him to cover undoubtedly cover his own shift or finish up some work he was going to leave behind that night.

So Beca decided to make sure that Benji had a solid alibi.

And what better witnesses to support him but the police themselves. Beca wasn’t sure how long they’ll look into the whole incident, but she was hoping they’ll keep popping back and forth to try and resolve the matter for the next few days or so. As soon as she could hear the sirens coming her way, Beca made a run for it through a few short cuts she knew.

The party ended up starting close to an hour later but Beca didn’t mind.

She got to celebrate her birthday with Chloe once again. She made sure to ruin the killer’s plan of using Benji as the fall guy for his intended murders, particularly for the one he was planning that night, and she made sure that the place he was planning to kill Chloe in would be currently occupied by the police.

_Score one for Beca._

And Beca made sure to take comfort in the little things too. She had a flash drive ready in her pocket for her back to school excuse earlier, claiming that it was what she had forgotten. She tossed in a playlist for Chloe with the gloves she had gotten her for her birthday. They exchanged gifts, had fun, and she even allowed Jesse to let them watch one of the movies he got instead. Beca wasn’t really paying much attention to it, her mind still preoccupied by many thoughts.

She knew, without a doubt, the next few steps she took would determine Chloe’s fate.

And she also knew that she had now second chances left.

Beca stole a glance at Jesse as they watched, and while pretending to be interested in the movie himself, Jesse gave her a thumbs up.

Towards the end of the night, Dr. Mitchell asked if they could take a picture together, and this time Beca didn’t relent, she didn’t pretend to be annoyed. Instead she asked for a few shots instead of just one, and she made sure she smiled.

Because this time she wanted a picture worthy of lasting until the day they could all reminisce the moment together one day down the line.

A memory with no regrets, no guilt, no sadness.

Was Beca sure her plan would work? Hell no.

But this was the best one she could come up with the night before.

It was risky, but she’s lived this day one too many times already, she lived the coming days far too many times too.

So she was banking on what she knew would have happened and decided to use it.

She didn’t forget her jacket this time as she walked out her door, holding Chloe’s hand in her own.

They were at an intersection, just a block away from Chloe’s house, when Beca stopped on her tracks. Chloe looked at her curiously, trying to get a read of her, and before Beca could even voice out what it was she wanted to say, Chloe asked her question. “Beca, what’s going on? You’ve been acting a bit out of it.”

“Oh, just… just have a lot on my mind… but that’s not important.” Beca replied. She wasn’t sure how Chloe would react to what she would ask, considering this little idea of her came from Tom’s own rash of a plan that he once admitted to her.

“Chloe…” Beca started to say before Chloe could even press on about what’s going on in her mind. “Chloe, would you mind if I kidnapped you?”

Chloe looked at Beca half-surprised and half-curious at what Beca was getting at. They stood there in silence for a few seconds, Chloe still trying to figure if Beca was even serious about what she was saying or if she even understood what it was she was saying.

But Beca didn’t falter, she looked straight into Chloe’s eyes and stayed as calm as she could, waiting for a reply with an unwavering faith that she would say yes.

Chloe smiled. “I’m guessing asking me to run away with you is just too clichéd?”

“Yes, and well, it might not be the smartest of ideas.” Beca replied.

“And this is?” Chloe then asked.

“Do you trust me?” Beca asked in return and Chloe nodded within a heartbeat. “Then believe in me when I say this is the only idea I have that I think might work.”

“You don’t have to ask me to believe you Beca.” Chloe then answered.

“So, can I kidnap you?” Beca followed up and Chloe chuckled.

“Yes.” she replied instantly.

“Where are we going exactly?” Chloe then asked as they wondered through the trails of the woods near their school.  “You haven’t gotten us lost, right?”

“No. Remember, I was the troublemaker. I know a lot of shortcuts no matter how questionable they may be thanks to the days when I sued to sneak out.” Beca then said. “Don’t worry about my dad,” she added, beating Chloe who was just about to ask her something, “I told him I’m planning to take a walk with you before dropping you off.”

Chloe simply nodded. “Okay, but where are we going?” she then asked again as she noticed they passed by the trail that leads to their school.

“The private academy close by.” Beca then replied finally stopping just outside an abandoned bus that was parked close by the entrance of the trails leading through the entrance of the academy.

“Ah, finally, you guys made it.” Beca heard Jesse say as he stared dragging a wagon with him.

“Did you get Flo home safely?” Beca asked.

“Yeah, we ran into her brother so I passed her off to him. I decided to head straight here and start setting things up.” he replied, opening the front doors and taking a gallon of what seemed to be gasoline and a few a box of supplies from the wagon.

“You dragged Jesse into this?” Chloe asked her sounding worried and Beca simply shrugged.

“Oh, he volunteered.” she replied, ushering Chloe inside.

“I have a friend who attends the academy, we call him Uni. He’s on the ice hockey team. There’s a trail that leads to their stadium through the woods so they use to take it as a shortcut and this old bus was already perfectly situated here so they used it as their club room for a while. They don’t use it anymore now that they have a proper place but they already had it set-up so I told Beca it would be easy to get it all ready for you.” Jesse explained as they entered.

Sure enough the bus had a few seats already taken off. One side was filled to the brim with boxes all covered in cloth, with a few hockey sticks cluttering the driver’s seat. There was some kind of heating system installed that was powered by gasoline towards the back, with a mini shelf for a portable burner stove with a tea kettle on the opposite side of it. The back seat looked to be upholstered and made more spacious and comfortable, throw pillows were scattered about with a small table in the middle, and a heavy drape was set in the middle of the bus so that they could be pulled shut and the back half would remain private. The windows were all covered with curtains too and the back door of the bus was shut close, turned into some kind of cabinet to store more hockey sticks but all it had then was one stick, a puck, and a pair of old skates. The place was currently being dimly lit by a small lamp on the table.

“I have a box of cup noodles and some bottles of water for stock for now. Just close the drapes shut and don’t open for anyone. If either Beca or I would swing by, we’ll knock three times to let you know it’s us. Not a lot of people know this bus exists or that the doors actually still work so I wouldn’t expect much visitors.” Jesse then went on.

“And I’ll swing by before school. Jess and I will check on you in the afternoon to make sure you’re okay.” Beca then said.

Chloe simply nodded, taking it all in before turning to look at Beca. “Thank you.” she said. “You didn’t have to do all of this for me.”

Beca shook her head. “Whether that’s true or not doesn’t matter. I want to do this, Chloe, and Jess does too. Don’t worry about anything, I promise, we’ll protect you. _I’ll_ protect you.”

Chloe once again nodded, looking glassy eyed. Jesse bid his farewell soon and Beca knew she had to go back home too.

But she just couldn’t stay at home either, not when she’s not yet sure that Chloe’s actually safe.

So she bid Chloe farewell with a promise to be back in two hours or so, sneaking out and setting things up so that her dad would think she just left early for school.

And when Beca found Chloe still in the bus that night, she found that she could breathe again.

* * *

 

“So, what were you up to?” Beca asked while Chloe was hurriedly shoving the yarn and unfinished gloves she’s been making for Beca into her bag.

“Nothing much, don’t really have any forms of entertainment here, now do I?” Chloe replied.

Beca simply chuckled, emptying some of the contents of her bag, two extra blankets, some camping essentials that Chloe might need, and a few more snacks.

“Honestly, Beca, you didn’t need to do this for me.” Chloe then said, watching Beca take a seat next to her on the back lounge. “Besides, won’t your dad get worried if he finds out you’re here.”

“I’ve taken care of that already.” Beca replied with a smirk. “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep much tonight knowing you’re here all alone.”

Chloe simply smiled with Beca’s response. She has no idea what they’re doing or what was going to come of it, but Beca did make a good point when she explained her plan on their way to the bus.

This wasn’t exactly what Chloe was thinking her birthday was going to go either, but she really couldn’t complain much either.

She never expected Beca to do anything like this for her, never in a million years, no, but knowing that she cared this much for Chloe…

…it made her feel like the dark days would soon be over.

It offered her hope.

“So what did you tell Jesse to convince him to help you?” Chloe asked. The two of them eventually fell into an easy conversation as the night went on, sharing an earbud as they listened to some songs on Beca’s iPod.

“I didn’t tell him anything. He already knew, sort of. He noticed too… you know… He felt bad about not doing anything so when he figured out I was up to something, he offered his help.” Beca gave as an honest reply.

Chloe simply nodded, she didn’t even realize that other people noticed the bruises she tried so hard to conceal. She didn’t even know what to feel about that knowledge.

Because then why didn’t anyone even bother…

Beca noticed the sudden change in her mood after that and decided to share some stories of the kinds of trouble she got into when she used to sneak out. Mostly just to take Chloe’s mind off of things she’d rather not think about.

And there she was again, Beca Mitchell, oh so smoothly cheering her up and lifting her mood.

She didn’t even realize when she started to doze off, but she knew at some point she did. Because when her eyes fluttered open again, her head was already on Beca’s lap. She’s taking up most of the space on the back lounge but it didn’t seem that Beca minded it much as she was absent-mindedly running her fingers through Chloe’s hair, looking out the tiny crack between the curtains covering the windows of the bus, softly humming some song.

Chloe noticed the earbud she wore had already fallen down, possibly when she ended up taking the position she was in. But she didn’t mind it much. Everything was quiet, peaceful, and still.

And even if they were at the back of some bus with the situation being less than ideal, Chloe never felt so secured.

It almost felt like a perfect moment.

_Almost._

But then Beca stopped humming, and Chloe felt rather disappointed until she heard Beca started singing the next song.

She didn’t even know Beca could sing.

 _Nobody knows just why we're here_  
_Could it be fate or random circumstance_  
_At the right place, at the right time_  
_Two roads intertwine_

Chloe took a deep breath and stayed as still as she could, afraid Beca would stop singing if she realized that she was actually awake.

And she most definitely did not want that.

It felt selfish, but after the past few months she’s had, Chloe decided that she would be selfish in this moment of time. Selfish to enjoy this, the feeling of freedom from the shadow constantly looming above her, freedom to enjoy Beca’s company in this bus, with the two of them alone in their quiet little world.

Because it did truly feel like that, the two of them against the universe.

Chloe knew she wasn’t sure of what she’s doing but she was trusting Beca with all her heart. She could tell that Beca was playing some kind of game and that she was going for a checkmate.

 _And if the universe conspired_  
_To meld our lives, to make us fuel and fire_  
_Then know where ever you will be_  
_So too shall I be_

Chloe’s eyes started to flutter close once more, the heaviness of sleep threatening to take her again. She tried to fight it as much as she could, wanting to hear Beca’s voice a little more as she sang.

And all Chloe could think of then was just how thankful she was that Beca found her when she did.

Because she wasn’t sure how she would have gone on for any longer

And in the end, Chloe found that the last two weeks she’s had with Beca had been the best in her life.

 _Close your eyes_  
_Dry your tears_  
_'Cause when nothing seems clear_  
_You'll be safe here_  
_From the sheer weight_  
_Of your doubts and fears_  
_Weary heart_  
_You'll be safe here_

Chloe smiled as she finally closed her eyes, she told herself she was only going to close them, she wasn’t going to sleep.

She was just enjoying the feeling of relaxing for once, of not feeling so guarded.

Because she knew it to be true.

She felt safe in Beca’s arms

* * *

 

Beca couldn’t sleep, not even a wink, even now that she had Chloe by her side.

 _Remember how we laughed, until we cried_  
_At the most stupid things, like we were so high_  
_But love was all that we were on_  
_We belong_

Or technically, that Chloe was all curled up on the backseat, with her head resting on Beca’s lap.

So Beca decided to stay awake, and watch over her for the night. Stand guard for anything all as she entertained herself with her music and absent-mindedly sang along to it as softly as she could, afraid she’ll wake Chloe up.

 _And though the world would never understand_  
_This unlikely union and why it still stands_  
_Someday we will be set free_  
_Pray and believe_

Beca told herself she would protect Chloe this time. She had failed before, she won’t again.

Not when she could see Chloe smiling again, when she was relaxing again, and when Beca could see the light returning in her eyes.

No, she wouldn’t let anyone even dare lay a finger on Chloe ever again.

 _When the light disappears_  
_And when this world's insincere_  
_You'll be safe here_  
_When nobody hears you scream_  
_I'll scream with you_  
_You'll be safe here_

She would protect her until the end.

Keep her safe from her step-mother and from the killer lurking in the shadows.

 _Save your eyes_  
_From your tears_  
_When everything's unclear_  
_You'll be safe here_  
_From the sheer weight_  
_Of your doubts and fears_  
_Wounded heart_

She just needs to make sure that everyone’s gonna do what they need to and play the part. She could do that.

Besides, living the same moment a good few times was bound to teach her a few things, right?

They’ll catch him this time.

He won’t win.

 _When the light disappears_  
_And when this world's insincere_  
_You'll be safe here_  
_When nobody hears you scream_  
_I'll scream with you_  
_You'll be safe here_

Beca told herself that she’ll be careful, otherwise it will all blow up again and she can’t let that happen.  She couldn’t because she was dead set in protecting Chloe.

In saving her friends.

Her dad.

 _In my arms_  
_Through the long cold night_  
_Sleep tight_  
_You'll be safe here_

And this might very well be her last revival, her last chance to save everyone.

Chloe most specially.

 _When no one understands_  
_I'll believe_  
_You'll be safe_  
_You'll be safe_  
_You'll be safe here_

No, Beca wasn’t going to fail now.

Now when she knows how it feels like to lose the people she cared about.

To have her heart ripped right out of her chest.

No, she’ll save all of them.

And she’ll start by keeping Chloe safe.

_Put your heart in my hands  
You'll be safe here_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed this update! It’s been my favorite one to write so far because, well, Bechloe moment, Beca outmaneuvering the killer, and actively planning how to unsettle him and ruin his plans.
> 
> And oh, oh the next chapter. I can’t wait for that as well…
> 
> UPNEXT: Chloe is shaken by an incident! Beca discovers something worrying at the bus! Dr. Mitchell and the adults step-up and take (a kind of) action!


	14. Intruder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca keeps herself on high alert for anyone who might be acting suspicious as people slowly realize she’s missing. Chloe finds herself in a scary situation. Beca and Jesse discover the contents of the boxes inside the bus and decide that it might not be the safest place for Chloe to hide in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHH, the next few chapters are gonna be so exciting! Anyways, here is chapter 14. Sorry for the few hours delay in upload, I didn’t finish Chloe’s last POV before falling asleep.
> 
> But anyways, Beca finds some clues, the grown-ups decide they need to step-up, and Chloe comes very close to danger.
> 
> Also, cute Bechloe scenes sprinkled in the beginning and end ;)

It’s been three days.

Chloe’s been missing for three days.

But this time around, Beca’s not frantically searching for her.

Because this time around, Beca’s successfully kept Chloe alive for three more days.

It was five in the morning and Beca had just finished getting ready. She’d have stayed with Chloe every night at the bus but after the first two nights, her father started getting suspicious. So Beca opted to actually spend the night at their house instead. The plan was to make breakfast for her dad to leave behind on the dining table ready for him when he wakes up while she packs up her own breakfast along with Chloe’s so they could share the meal at the bus.

To Beca’s own surprise though, she found her dad already up, with breakfast already set. He was packing her some food when she stumbled into the kitchen, curious at what her father was doing. “I figure, since you’ve been so busy working hard at school and all that I can at least make you some breakfast. This one is for later.” he said after greeting her a good morning.

“Um, you didn’t have to.” Beca replied as she approached the table. Her dad urged her on to take a seat so they could eat breakfast together. Beca obliged, taking a seat and studying her dad for a minute or two before thanking him for the meal.

Beca wanted to rush, but she did her best not to. She didn’t want to make him any more suspicious of anything.

She swung by bright and early at the bus, a little later than she intended, but still not too late that she’d suspiciously end up coming to school later than she had been the past few weeks. She knocked three times, checked in on Chloe who was once again, hurriedly trying to hide something in her bag when Beca came in. “How was last night?”

“Not bad. I have to say, a little lonely though. I’ve gotten used to you being here.” Chloe replied as she smiled up at Beca.

Beca returned the favor as she placed her lunch bag on the table. “You can have this. My dad was being all weird and decided to make me food for lunch.”

“Wouldn’t you want to have it instead?” Chloe then asked.

“Yeah, but I figured this would be better than cup noodles for this morning again.” Beca replied. “I’m sorry it’s taking a while.”

Chloe shook her head, and Beca was honestly a bit relieved that she’s not at all mad about this half-way insane idea of hers. “Don’t worry about it.” she then said.

“Oh, and here.” Beca replied, handing her iPod and earbuds to Chloe. “It should keep you entertained for a while. We can charge it later on my laptop when we swing by this afternoon so that you can have something to keep you company tonight as well.”

“So very thoughtful of you.” Chloe replied.

Beca checked the time, wanting to make sure that she leaves early enough that no one – particularly, no student from the private academy nearby – won’t spot her. “I should go. Don’t want to be late. I’ll see you later Chlo.”

“I’ll see you later, Beca.” Chloe then said as Beca rushed towards front doors of the bus. “Oh, and Beca…” Chloe called out. Beca stopped for a minute to find Chloe smiling back at her. “Thank you. For everything.”

Beca simply shrugged. “Don’t thank me yet.” she replied knowing full well that things were far from over.

The rest of the day went practically the same way it had during Beca’s last Revival. Beca kept her eyes peeled for anything suspicious, or rather, for anyone who would be acting suspicious.

The killer already missed his opportunity that Sunday night to abduct Chloe. Beca took great lengths to make sure she would be away from his clutches. Now all she needed to do was pay close attention, watch for any clues and signs.

And of course, Beca was worried that the killer might have just moved onto the next target, Aubrey Posen. If that were the case, she was highly ill prepared to stop him of his movements, so in a way all of this was some great gamble.

She was really hedging on the fact that she would have attracted his curiosity, having upturned his careful planning and outplayed him.

She was hoping that the thought that there someone out there capable of stopping his every move would attract his full attention, and draw it away from Aubrey for now.

Have him focus on figuring out what happened to Chloe, make him wonder who else could have taken her when he wasn’t looking.

It did help that she asked Jesse to get info about the next victim from his friend Uni since Aubrey also attended the private academy. She would have asked Benji, but she decided against it thinking it might be too dangerous for Benji to be too close to Aubrey.

She was still partially suspicious of Jesse, not wanting to just exclude everyone out of her list of potential suspects, but the fact that Chloe was still safe and intact, and that no missing girls have been reported as of yet based on her close following of local news, then Jesse was safe from suspicion for now.

So Beca turned her focus on probably the most suspicious person on her list for now, the only other person who knew Chloe would be in the garden shed if she had been harmed by her step-mom.

“Mitchell.” she heard Tom call out to her, right on cue. He looked tired, sleepless even. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for days. I’m worried about Chloe.”

“How come?” Beca asked, making Tom flare up a bit.

“What do you mean how come?” he replied, sounding incredibly upset.

“Dude, calm down. I’m worried too but you know, I figured that based on what you said before… Chloe’s past disappearances for a few days of school… you know where I’m going with this right?”

“Right.” Tom replied, trying to keep his cool. But his brows were still burrowed, and he still looked upset about something. “Look, I haven’t had the chance to swing by and check if… you know… besides, I’m afraid that Mrs. Beale will call the cops on me. Have you gone and check?”

“Trust me when I tell you that seeing it once was enough for me.” Beca replied.

“But have you heard from her? You two have been thick as thieves lately, and I see how well you’re actually able to help her.” Tom replied. “Is that why you’re not freaking out just yet, because if it isn’t, I’m gonna need your help to stop me from freaking out. I just… I feel like something’s not right.”

“I haven’t, no.” Beca replied to Tom’s most pressing question. It was a lie, sure, but she can’t tell him the truth either.

Multiple reasons included.

“But we can’t just go full-blown panic attack just yet either. Have you talked to anyone else yet?”

“No.” Tom replied. “I’ve tried looking for her in places where she’d usually escape to before but she isn’t there.”

Beca simply nodded but before their conversation could go any longer the bell rang.

And Beca found herself in her next class leaving a confused Tom behind.

“Beca, Beca, how are you?” she heard Luke call out to her that afternoon.

“Fine.” Beca simply replied, keeping a close watch of how this interaction would go, remembering the last time it happened too.

“Have you heard from Chloe? Sorry for asking, I just noticed how she’s been doing better the last two weeks and now she’s been gone for a few days. Here other teachers haven’t been that worried, considering she’s done this before in the past. I just wanted to make sure that everything is indeed okay.”

“I haven’t heard from her or seen her.” Beca lied.

“You seem rather calm about that.” Luke noted, sounding like he wasn’t completely buying it.

“I’m just trying not to worry much. I figure it’s the best thing to do at times like this.” Beca replied. “Have you tried reaching out to her step-mom? Has she called the police or anything?”

“That’s the thing I find so odd and what’s gotten me worried. She hasn’t reached out to the school unlike the last few times, not even for some sorry excuse on why Chloe’s not attending classes. I don’t know, I just don’t want to be too late, you know? I didn’t think that seat too well for me.”

“I get what you mean.” Beca then said. “Maybe it’s time we took action?”

“Right, I agree.” Luke then replied, still studying Beca closely. “I might need your help with that, Beca. So you need to be brave and have courage to face what’s coming okay? If we call the authorities, they’re gonna have some questions. I’ll talk to Mr. Walp and we’ll work on things on our end. Don’t worry much, okay? Stay resilient and strong.” he added before excusing himself.

“What was that about?” Stacie asked as she and Cynthia Rose joined Beca.

“Is this about, you know?” Flo then asked as she joined the group with Jesse.

“About what?” Cynthia Rose then asked.

“Oh, uh, I’m guessing Chloe. Tom approached Beca earlier about it too, right Beca?” Jesse replied, quickly covering for anything that Flo might have let slip.

Because of course they pulled Flo in. Flo was the one other victim Beca knew she could easily protect too. That’s whys he’s been pulling her along with Jesse and keeping an eye on her, asking for Jesse’s help in making sure she gets home safely too.

“That Chloe hasn’t been showing up to school? You know I’ve been wondering about that too, didn’t you drop her off their place last Sunday?” Cynthia Rose then asked.

“Yeah, but I haven’t seen her then.” Beca lied yet again, sounding quite annoyed. This time mostly due to the unexpected amount of times she had to lie about not knowing where Chloe was. Mostly because she wasn’t expecting all her friends getting curious about it now when last time around they weren’t as curious as this time.

“You don’t think something’s happened, do you?” Stacie asked sounding incredibly concerned.

“Like what? A kidnapper took her?” Cynthia Rose then asked.

“Well, you’ll never know.” Stacie replied. “It’s like those mystery-thrillers where it’s always the nice guys that turn out to be the culprit.”

“Can we just all not talk about things that can potential make me freak out more?” Beca then said, not wanting to involve more of her friends with this problem. Especially because she knew how it was when Stacie got curious about things. The more her curiosity is piqued, the more she would be relentless in trying to find answers, and Beca really didn’t want to put anyone else in danger.

“Fine, dropping it now.” Stacie then replied.

“Okay, good.” Jesse then said. “Now, as for us, Beca you promised to help me and Flo out with something.”

“Right. Sorry guys, we gotta go.” Beca then replied as she pulled Jesse and Flo along to sneak onto the bus that afternoon.

 

* * *

“Ha, I win again!” Chloe exclaimed as she threw down a pair of aces, finishing her cards on hand. They’ve been playing cards for about half an hour now, with Beca, Flo, and Jesse completely finishing their homework.

“I swear, if I lose again…” Beca then mumbled grumpily, something Chloe couldn’t help but find adorable. It was true, she lost every round, and it would seem that she might again this time around.

“Oh, cheer up Becs. At least I won. Aren’t you happy about that?” Chloe then said making Chloe chuckle a bit.

“Okay, fine.” she replied. “But we’re not playing another game you’re good at.” Beca then noted.

“Haha, come on Beca. Don’t be a grouch.” Jesse then joined in as he finished his turn, emptying his hand a swell.

“Ugh, shut up Swanson.” Beca replied, conceding the game before she actually lost.

Chloe simply chuckled, she enjoyed getting to know these things, what made Beca happy, sad, annoyed, what she enjoyed to do, what made her grumpy and hated the most, the things that she liked….

And Chloe couldn’t help but linger at the last thought, because she couldn’t help but wonder if that had meant anything in the situation they were in.

Because surely enough, Beca wouldn’t do this if she didn’t care about Chloe or if she didn’t like her in any sort of way.

Like her enough to risk putting herself in some questionable situation just to get her out of her hellish nightmare.

“So, um, have you guys actually thought about what you’re going to do when we get found out? Beca did say that Luke and Tom had started asking questions about me.” Chloe then asked. “And about that, sorry for pulling you into this one Flo.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it much.” Flo replied. “I’m just glad to be included in things. Besides, I’m usually just left alone at home until late because pretty much everyone in my family work. It’s nice to have the company.”

“Right, and if anyone asks, you could just put the blame on me. It’s my idea after all, I just dragged you all along.” Beca then replied.

Chloe threw a pillow at her face in response. “Hey, what was that for?”

“Don’t be an idiot.” Chloe then replied. “If we tell everyone in the end that it was all my idea, no one would get in trouble for it. I could just say I asked for all your help.” she then went on. Chloe wasn’t going to lie, she’s been thinking a lot about this, not to mention what would happen next.

There was so much uncertainty with the future right now, at least for her that she could only try to come up with a few ideas that could eventually help them all in the fallout.

Beca looked thoughtful for a moment. “I suppose…” she then mumbled, thinking deeply about it.

“Don’t worry about it Chloe. We’ll support your idea.” Jesse chimed in, followed by Flo with a firm nod.

Chloe smiled, one worry already out of the way.

Because of course she didn’t want to get Beca in trouble after everything she’s done for her.

_Oh right, almost forgot…_

“Beca, here.” Chloe then said, grabbing her bag to look for Beca’s gift. She finally finished it that morning after Beca had left. “I’m sorry it took so long to finish your birthday gift, you kind of didn’t give me much of a choice for picking me up so early pretty much every day.”

She pulled out a pair of blue knitted gloves, something she decided to proudly make herself after remembering that Beca had lost her own pair even before she approached Chloe to be friends.

Beca took the gloves with a kind of reverence, smiling a bit as she got all teary eyed.

“Whoa, Beca, didn’t know you get sentimental.” Jesse commented and Beca quickly wiped away her tears before wearing the gloves Chloe made for her.

“Shut up Jess.” she mumbled. “I just… it kind of just felt like I’ve waited for this my whole life…” Beca said getting all teary eyed again.

Jesse chuckled at the thought of it, and Flo simply thought it was sweet.

But Chloe, it meant the world to her to have heard what Beca had said. Overwhelmed, Chloe pulled Beca into a hug, trying her best not to cry herself.

She’d like to thank Beca for liking the gift, but it felt too repetitive to even say.

And she’d say other things, the thoughts and feelings she thought she had forgotten regarding Beca, but it just felt like it wasn’t the right time.

Not yet at least.

Chloe was beaming when she saw her friends leaving, Beca waving goodbye while proudly wearing the gloves she had made for Chloe.

It almost made up for not having Beca with her that night.

To keep her presence unnoticed, Chloe would turn down the heater to the lowest possible setting, shut the drapes closes, including the one that separated the back half of the bus from the front half, and turn off the lamp. She would wrap herself in her coat and the two blankets that Beca brought her, surround herself with the pillows, and curl up on the back seat. Now that she had Beca’s iPod, she popped on one earbud to listen to some music until she fell asleep. In a way, it was perfect timing for her, because she had finally finished the gloves that kept her busy.

It was probably past midnight when she heard the door of the bus opening.

“Beca?’ she sleepily mumbled in a low voice but she got no response.

She could hear a heavy set of footfalls go up the bus before she heard something loud crashing to one side from somewhere out in front, startling her.

Shocked at the sudden presence of an unknown person in what had been her sanctuary for the last few days, Chloe pulled the blanket above her, staying as quietly as she could as she heard another loud _bang_. It was like whoever it was that had come up the bus had kicked something with such great force.

Chloe bit her lips, trying her best not to scream with the sudden noise. She brought down a bit of the blanket to take a peak of the mystery person, get an idea of who it could have been, but all she saw was the silhouette of a man walking out of the bus. She did her best to stay as silent as she could when she heard the man close the bus shut as loudly as he could, kicking the side of the door yet again.

From what Chloe could gather, he was rather frustrated and potentially violent.

And she most definitely did not want to get any of his attention.

She stayed as still as possible for the last half hour after that, scared that the intruder might return.

Chloe didn’t get a wink of sleep that night and she thought she would never get any sleep at all until daybreak, but she was proven wrong about that.

It was five past three in the morning when she heard the three distinct knocks on the bus doors. Afraid that it might not be any of her friends, Chloe didn’t respond. She heard the door open, light footfalls coming up into the bus just before the doors were shut. Chloe pulled the covers back above her head as she heard the drapes that separated the front of the bus drawn open. “Chloe?” she heard Beca softly ask.

Chloe pulled the drapes down, relieved that Beca was there with another lunch bag from Dr. Mitchell.

A lunch bag he packed for Chloe specifically, if the note she found in the one Beca brought the day before was any indication.

_I didn’t know what you liked so I packed Beca’s favorites,_ was all it said.

Chloe scribbled down a simple _Thank you._

Beca didn’t seem to know that her father knew she was sneaking out to see her. How he knew was a mystery to Chloe too, but the fact that he seemed to be letting things unfold on their own suggested that he wasn’t exactly mad about anything.

And perhaps, Chloe wondered, Dr. Mitchell picked up on a few things during that time he spoke with her step-mom.

Perhaps he had an idea of what was going on.

And this was the reason Beca wasn’t in so much trouble just yet.

But those were thoughts for another day.

“I swear he’s tuning into my sleeping patterns. He didn’t even ask me why I’m off so early this time.” Beca noted as she left the bag on top of the table in the middle and rushed to her side with a worried look on her face once she took in Chloe’s sight. Chloe didn’t realize that whatever had caused her worry was that evident. “What’s wrong?” Beca asked, greatly concerned. But Chloe didn’t say anything, no. Instead she pulled Beca down, close to her, holding onto her as tightly as possible.

“Chloe, what’s wrong?” Beca asked again, but still she didn’t reply, feeling the heaviness of sleep catch up with her.

“Nothing. You’re here now.” she finally said as she drowsily drifted off to sleep safe in Beca’s arms.

* * *

 

“Hey, good morning sleeping beauty.” Beca said with a curious glance as Chloe finally stirred awake. She was trying her best not to blush with regards to the incredibly close distance between them, or for that matter, the lack of any space. Beca had officially missed her first two classes that morning – way to be inconspicuous there – but she really just couldn’t leave Chloe alone. She was waiting for the next period to start to make sure that she could effectively sneak through the shortcuts in the woods without anyone noticing her moving about.

If anything, Beca was ready to say that she’d been worried sick of Chloe so she ended up sleeping late that night.

And she was sneaking through the shortcut in the woods to try to get to her next class without rousing much suspicion that she was indeed late.

Not like it was the first time she did that anyways.

“Hey.” Chloe replied blinking sleepily before getting up in a bolt, accidentally pushing Beca off the edge off the back seat where Beca was laying down.

“Okay, ouch.” Beca bemoaned as she got up the floor. “Are you okay? You were all shake-y this morning when I came in.”

“Beca, you’re late for class.” Chloe noted. “Really late.”

“Not really the most pressing thing here.” was Beca’s response.

“Don’t worry about me, just go be all sneaky and get to school.” Chloe replied.

“But Chlo…” Beca tried protesting.

“We’ll talk about it later.” was Chloe’s hurried response.

Beca did as she was told, successfully avoiding any human contact as she paid great attention to detail on who might possibly be watching her. She took her time, getting to school as the bell rang for the next period. Beca mixed in with the crowd of students slowly filling the halls as seamlessly when she heard her name be called.

“Ms. Mitchell, can we speak in my office for a moment?” Mr. Walp said, stopping Beca on her tracks.

Beca obliged, simply eying Mr. Walp as she followed him into his office. “If it’s because I’m late…” Beca started to say while taking her seat.

“Oh no, it’s not about that. I figure I have an idea why. You’re worried about Ms. Beale, Chloe, am I right?” he said, getting straight to the point.

Beca simply nodded, letting Chicago take over the situation. “Luke told me about his concerns. He asked me to follow up on child services and get in contact with the authorities. I was reluctant at first because we don’t have any substantial leads but he made argument on the case. Luke convinced me, we have the authorities looking into Chloe’s absence now, so don’t worry much, okay Beca?”

Beca nodded once more. “Yeah, yes.” she replied.

“Have you heard from Ms. Beale at all? Have any idea where she might be?” he asked, leaning a bit forward on his desk.

“No.” Beca lied once more.

“You seem awfully calm about it.” he noted, just like Luke did.

“I figure it’s the best way to go about things, right? Staying as calm as possible is the best way to face situations like this, we just have to hope for the best.” Beca replied.

Mr. Walp nodded, accepting that answer. “That’s a good way of viewing things.” he replied. “You’re free to go to your next class now, I just wanted to make sure you’re okay, Beca. And remember, you can always swing by my office if anything’s bothering you.”

“Got it.” Beca replied, grabbing her things. She stopped just as she reached the door, a thought having occurred to her. “Mr. Walp, what happens to Chloe then? You know, when we find her? If… when we get her step-mom. I assume child services will take her away ‘cause she’s still a minor?”

“Well, I do have an idea about that.” Mr. Walp replied, leaning back on his chair. “Normally they would take Chloe away, and she’d have to be sent someplace else. But, I’ve been doing a bit of digging on past student records, Chloe’s got a grandmother in Florida. She might be the one to take over guardianship of Chloe.”

Beca simply nodded with that information. “Thanks for looking out for us.” she replied.

“Ah, well, Luke, Mr. Westfield, has rubbed on me quite a lot. I like his motto, we’re your parents here. We have to be looking out for your welfare.” Mr. Walp replied. “Oh, and please, when you see Mr. Matthew, Tom, tell him to panic less and not get himself into much trouble. He already got himself suspended on the ice hockey team. It would be terrible if he gets himself into a worse situation. Tell him we’ve got this.”

“I will.” Beca replied before heading into class.

The rest of the day had Beca pretty much distracted with the possibility that this might all end soon.

That and the possibility that Chloe might have to move away, something that Beca didn’t really consider before.

But if moving kept her safe, that Beca would just have to accept that.

After classes, Beca didn’t waste any time to head to the bus with Jesse and Flo, remembering that something had been bothering Chloe that morning.

As soon as they arrived, Chloe was quick to explain what had happened the night before. “You should have said something sooner!” Beca exclaimed, rushing to her feet to look for whatever clues the intruder left behind.

“Did you see what he tossed?” Jesse then asked.

“No, I just heard something hitting something else somewhere from far in front. The sound definitely didn’t sound close to the back.” Chloe noted. “I don’t know if that helps much. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, besides it might just be someone from the private academy. Ground keeper or someone form the hockey team?” Flo offered as a solution.

“Found it.” Beca replied as she noticed a black bag discarded to the side of the driver’s seat. She grabbed the bag, which didn’t feel that mush heavy, and tossed it in the middle of the bus.

Jesse was quick to grab the bag and opened it to remove the contents. “Let’s see what we have here…” he said as he took out a role of rope, some duct tape, a pair of black gloves, and a bottle of some industrial freezing solution.

_Freezing… freezing solution…_

Beca blanched at the sight of the contents of the bag, taking a few steps back away.

_He… he was here… he was here in the same bus with Chloe last night!_

“Beca are you okay?” Flo asked, but Beca didn’t respond. Instead she looked around the bus for any other clues. She saw a muddy footprint on one of the cloth-covered boxes and immediately Beca wondered if the prints would have matched the company issued boots of Benji’s family company.

Beca immediately tried unstacking the boxes that she found were a bit heavy. Jesse sprang into action to help her out and when Beca opened the box she found it filled with coal.

_Like the one used in the murder before what was supposed to happen in their town…_

“This bus isn’t safe.” Beca found herself saying out loud.

“Beca, what’s going on?” Chloe asked, sounding concerned.

“The kidnapper was here.” Beca said almost as an instinct.

“What kidnapper?” Flo asked immediately after.

“I…” Beca started to say, not entirely sure how to explain how she knew any of this. “I… it’s just, I don’t know, the tape and rope, industrial freezing solution, the sketchy box of coal, I would just think that it’s all things that a kidnapper intending to commit murder might use. Like say if they want to freeze someone to death or suffocate them with smoke.”

“Oddly specific, and a bit of a big assumption, don’t you think?” Jesse then asked.

“I know it sounds ridiculous, I heard myself say it. I just… call it a gut feeling. I don’t like any of this, okay? And maybe I’m crazy, but pretend for a moment that a kidnapper _is_ out there, a kidnapper who uses this place. We can’t just leave Chloe here, it would be like leaving her all neatly wrapped up for him!” Beca argued fiercely.

Because no, not after all her hard work was she going to let _him_ get his way.

No, she won’t let him get Chloe.

“Well, okay.” Jesse replied. “Okay, no matter how many leaps in logic that is, I choose to believe you.”

“I do too.” Flo then said.

“You don’t even have to ask me.” Chloe immediately added.

“But what’s the plan now?” Jesse asked.

“We move Chloe.” Beca immediately replied.

“And where do we take her?” Flo followed up.

“Well…” Beca said. “I kind of have an idea.” she replied.

And before long they rushed with packing up their little camp site before heading out.

And back into Beca’s backyard…

“This… this was you’re brilliant plan.” Jesse said. “Oh, we’re in so much trouble.”

“Well, it’s simple I know. But it’s the only one I’ve got.” Beca replied, knocking on the door that led into their kitchen. She didn’t want to risk taking the front entrance in case anyone close by saw them. Their backyard led to one of the trails into the woods, after all.

Dr. Mitchell opened the door and looked at them expectantly.

“I didn’t give up on this half way.” Beca said, turning to look at Chloe briefly.

Dr. Mitchell sighed before pulling Beca into a hug. “Well, I’m glad you didn’t. Come on in, let’s all get some dinner. I reckon Chloe misses decent food by now. I would appreciate the honesty too, seeing as all I know about what’s happening based on what I’ve heard from Mr. Westfield.” he said as he ushered all of them inside.

Beca stopped on her tracks, letting her friends get settled in the dining room, leaving her with her dad in the kitchen. “What do you mean?”

“Well, he called me about two days ago worried about what could have happened to Chloe. He looped me in with what he knew so far, including what you do know. I’ve suspected something as up after our last interaction with Mrs. Beale, I just didn’t think it was that bad. You should have said something, Beca.”

“I… well… I…” Beca found herself mumbling. She didn’t want to tell her dad anything because the last time he got involved he ended up getting killed.

But then things slowly made sense. His dad waking up so early in the morning, the packed food.

He so _knew_ it was for Chloe.

“Beca, I’m sure you have your reasons. But I’d appreciate knowing things next time, from you directly.”

Beca nodded. “The breakfast thing… and why you’ve been buying my sorry excuses… I should have known you knew then.”

“Well, the alarm bells in my head started going off when you said you were waking up early for school work. Let’s face it Beca, you and school don’t mix. But it made sense when Chloe was in the picture, so I figured it was Chloe-related instead. Mrs. Beale also called the night of the party, just when you got back from supposedly dropping Chloe off, and guess what? She was asking for Chloe? I told her what you told me, in a sense, that she went home, and she didn’t seem to be too bothered to ask anything anymore after that.”

Beca nodded once again.

_So she did wonder why Chloe wasn’t home, but she still didn’t call the authorities._

“Now I wish you would have told me things too.” Beca then said.

“We’ll have to take her back tomorrow, you do know that Beca, right?” Dr. Mitchell then asked and a part of Beca wanted to vehemently argue back.

But then she remembered what Mr. Walp said about him calling the authorities, and slowly she was starting to get the bigger picture.

“I’m trusting you with this so don’t fail me pops.” Beca replied before turning to leave the kitchen and join her friends.

“When have I ever failed you?” her dad said.

And that was the thing, Beca knew he never did.

Not even when she was holding onto some ridiculous grudge about him moving on.

Beca smiled softly to herself, she was choosing to trust in the help other people can give her.

If that meant this matter with Chloe’s step-mom finally gets some closure.

 

* * *

 

“Are you okay?” Chloe asked as Beca kept pacing her room. Dr. Mitchell had graciously accepted her into their home, letting her stay with Beca to sleepover for the night.

But tomorrow, tomorrow was a different day.

Tomorrow she’ll have to face the demons she kept hidden.

After Jesse and Flo had left, Dr. Mitchell sat down and talked with her and Beca about what the plan was. He was kind, understanding, and he didn’t push Chloe for anything, for any information she wasn’t ready to divulge or share. He respected her boundaries.

He didn’t ask why they finally left the bus, a part Chloe thinks he just simply assumed that they couldn’t reasonably keep Chloe there anymore. For that matter, he didn’t ask where she hid for the last few days. He accepted Beca’s vague explanation of somewhere hidden.

After that he and Beca helped her get settled for the night.

But now that they were about to go to bed, Beca just seemed to restless. “Are you worried about tomorrow?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.” Beca then replied as she continued to pace back and forth. “That and who the intruder could have been.”

“That was last night, Beca. We’re out of there now. You shouldn’t think much of it anymore. As for tomorrow, don’t worry too much, we’ll get through it.” Chloe replied. “Honestly, I think you’re the one that should be telling me this. And would you please stop moving around, you’re making me dizzy.” she then said, patting the space next to her on Beca’s bed.

Beca awkwardly stopped and waddled towards the bed, crawling to the farthest side of it before putting a pillow between them.

“Okay, what’s up with this now?” Chloe then asked.

“Hmmm…. What? Nothing.” Beca mumbled, before laying down and getting under the covers, pulling it above her head.

Chloe chuckled, finally getting a rough idea of why Beca was acting so weird then. She got under the covers and tossing the pillow aside. She pulled Beca close, resting her head on her chest.

And Chloe would lie if she said that the fact that she could hear Beca’s heart rapidly beating beneath her chest didn’t make her smile.

“W-what are you doing?” Beca then asked.

“Beca, you cuddled with me in the bus. Don’t be an idiot.” Chloe pointedly reminded her.

“Y-yeah, but that was in the bus.” Beca replied.

“So?”

“This is in my home, on my bed.” Beca replied.

“So?” Chloe repeated finding her new favorite hobby of getting Beca flustered.

“I… Well… B-but…”

“Beca, just shut up and hold me.” Chloe replied.

“W-why?” Beca asked but nevertheless doing as she was told.

_You make me feel safe. And right now I’m too scared of what might happen next. You’re the only thing that makes me feel brave._ Chloe thought _._

She didn’t know what was gonna happen next. She wasn’t sure of how things would turn out.

And while she did her best not to worry, she did.

The only real reason she hasn’t lost it at all was because of Beca.

Because she found her and pulled her into the light again.

But Chloe didn’t choose to reply then.

Instead she chose to focus on reveling in Beca’s warmth.

In case a tomorrow comes when she doesn’t get too do that anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it’s safe to say you can narrow the suspects down to two right about now… all I say is... SOON…
> 
> Vagueness aside, thanks for all the support so far. Hope you’re all enjoying the fic.
> 
> UPNEXT: A confrontation! Fallouts and consequences! AND WE FINALLY GET AUBREY!


	15. Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The grown-ups set a trap for Mrs. Beale. Meanwhile, not wanting to linger on the though of whether Chloe was leaving for good, Beca focuses on helping the next victim, Aubrey Posen. Chloe makes Beca a promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone. I was planning on updating every night this week but sensitive fire/smoke alarm in your building + neighbor who always burns what they cook = the alarm going off about 3x last night… hence, I was not able to finish the chapter :P
> 
> Blame my neighbor…
> 
> Anyways, here is chapter 15! We find out the fallout and we get to meet Aubrey too, though she's just introduced in this chapter.
> 
> Chloe and Beca also have a little private talk and Chloe makes Beca a promise :3

Beca wasn't too sure what to expect. She could feel the nerves building up deep inside of her that morning that she really simply couldn't have any breakfast.

To be honest, Beca wanted to stay in her bed all day, hold onto Chloe. Waking up next to her was just something she didn't expect she'd find great comfort in, butterflies or no butterflies – but there most definitely was butterflies.

Beca wanted to stay in her happy little bubble of a fleeting moment, because she most definitely did not want to risk taking Chloe back to place that put her life at risk.

No, Beca did not want to return her to the hands of the person that only hurts her.

She didn't want to give her up.

But this matter had to end one way or another, and if it was through taking a gamble of a chance that things would turn out the way they were planned, then Beca was going to do it.

Especially if it meant she finally gets Chloe far, far away from the ill fate that she had fallen to twice. Beca would very much like to stop reliving that moment.

Things turned out to be as tense and horrid as one would expect, at least at first. Her father led the way to the Beale household, knocking on the door a few times.

It was what had seemed to be a futile effort, with Mrs. Beale not showing up to answer the door.

"She's probably doing work at the back." Chloe then suggested.

"Doing what? Gardening in the middle of winter?" Beca asked.

"There are flowers that bloom in winter, you know?" Chloe replied, trying her best to hide her own nervous tone.

Dr. Mitchel led the way to the backyard, shielding Beca and Chloe as much as he could. There, as Chloe had said, they found Mrs. Beale with a small garden shovel as she tended to a few plants.

To say that things escalated quickly was an understatement.

Words were said, accusations thrown, the woman was most definitely not pleased to see Chloe returning home in the Mitchell's company. The wretched woman tried to reach out at Chloe ad grab her by force but Dr. Mitchell tried to restrain her.

Mrs. Beale had accused them for kidnapping and Beca's dad was quick with a sharp retort, calling her for what she was, an abuser.

Someone who took all her pain and anger and turned it onto an innocent girl.

Mrs. Beale's face was flushed with anger and indignation, reacting to what Dr. Mitchell had said with nothing but fury as she swiped the garden shovel she had in her hand up at him. Beca was quick her feet, pulling her father away, grabbing him by the waist. Chloe was even faster, rushing towards her step-mom, wrapping her hands around her as she tried to pull her away from Dr. Mitchell too.

Dr. Mitchell stood unfazed. If anything, Beca was sure he's never actually seen him to be this angry. And she kind of understood why.

Because the thought of her doing the same kinds of act on Chloe was just purely infuriating.

Beca noticed a thin line of blood trailing down her father's cheek as he finally noticed the cut the shovel left behind, his hand wiping it away

"I think that's about enough." they then heard a deep booming voice say. Some big, burly guy came through the small gate leading to the backyard, introducing himself as a detective. Behind him was two other people, a man who introduced himself as John, and a woman, Gail, from the child services department.

And sure enough, they were led by Mr. Walp himself who promised that he would call them.

He was followed by Luke, Beca's ever reliable homeroom teacher, who was ushering some woman who looked to be in her seventies.

Beca assumed that the elderly woman was Chloe's grandmother, and her assumption was found true when she rushed towards Chloe upon seeing her again for the first time.

Apparently she never approved of her father dating her then soon to be step-mom. Instead of listening to his own mother, her father did what he wanted and they stopped all types of communication afterwards. They had many ugly arguments about it back then.

Since Chloe was legally adopted by her step-mom upon marrying her father, she became her legal guardian.

And she made it appear to Chloe's grandmother, who tried reaching out after his death, that neither of them wanted her in their lives.

Vile woman indeed.

Beca watched the seen unfold in front of her, Chloe reuniting with her grandmother, Luke and Dr. Mitchell talking to the two people from child services, Mr. Walp talking to the detective who was taking Mrs. Beale away.

The plan her father worked out with Luke and Chicago had worked.

All that Beca could really think at that moment was how it was over.

She could feel herself breathing again at the thought of it. That finally, Chloe was in safe hands.

Getting her away from the clutches of her step-mom took her away from the kidnapper too, because now there was someone who would watch over her, someone who actually loved her.

Even if that meant that Chloe might have to leave because her grandmother lived far away.

It was kind of a bittersweet tasting kind of victory, but Beca would take it.

What was important was that Chloe was safe.

At some point, Chloe's grandmother, along with Chloe, approached her father and Luke to talk with the two child services people.

"You did good Beca." she then heard Mr. Walp say as he approached her.

"I didn't do much." Beca found herself replying.

"But you did a good deed. No one would have just done that for anyone. This whole thing has been going on for months, I'm sure other people noticed. Luke and I did and we left it off with a failed attempt. You saw something wrong, you did something about it. Not everyone would have, they would be too afraid of saying anything, not wanting the trouble. You shouldn't take this too lightly. What you did, you saved a friend's life." he went on

"I… thanks, I guess." Beca replied. "I don't really think of it that way though."

"How do you think of it then?" he asked.

Beca paused for a minute or two, looking deep at thought, before remembering something she once heard someone say. "I think it's not about good or bad. See, I think the essence of why people do good or bad things is to sometimes cover up their own defects or fill a void inside of them. I'm not sure if I did this to cover up a void or anything, but I did it because I was sick of thinking 'what if'. Because I know that saying 'if I had done this back then…' won't be enough to be a sincere form of regret when a moment has past and you wished things to be different. It's just something that will come to mind and then eventually disappear." Beca replied with all honesty, saying the thoughts that kept popping in her head.

"I just… I don't want to miss out anymore, I don't want those regrets to come and go. I just wanna know that I've done everything I could at a given moment. And if that's the void I'm trying to fill, then so be it. I just don't think I did a good deed though, not in that sense, because there's no profit or loss from saving a friend's life, especially someone you care about dearly. Sorry for the rambling." she then said, her thoughts still on why she did all of this.

More than just to save her dad, Chloe, Flo, Benji, and Aubrey.

And most definitely more than saving herself.

Because Beca knew she wasn't trying to cover up her own imperfections, but she was indeed trying to make up for her missed chances.

But she also knew, she understood now, this wasn't about her feeling better about herself. It wasn't about feeling less guilt.

It wasn't about having a gift either.

For once in her life, she just wanted to do the right thing, no matter how hard it was.

Because Beca Mitchell, girl who trudge along in life, having peers because she didn't want to be lonely finally understood the importance of having people she loved in her life, understood what having friends meant.

And she cherished having people in her life that meant the world to her.

That was a piece of her as she too became a piece of them.

So she did, she understood now, the great desire of wanting to protect them…

…before it was too late.

Chicago chuckled rather impressed by what Beca had said. "You know, you just said my life philosophy right there. I believe that good and bad is just an act of filling the void too."

_Crap_ , Beca thought to herself, finally remembering who she heard that from.

She almost forgot about it, but back then, during their graduation ceremony, Chicago gave that little speech to al graduating students, especially since their graduating class lost Flo back then.

And Benji's graduating class because his arrest.

He also gave a similar speech to Chloe's graduating batch then, if only to help them make sense of the tragedies that occurred.

"But I like how you put it," Chicago went on to say, "that you don't want to do something good or bad. That's not what motivates you. You just want to help your friend, and you know what Beca? Doing your best is the key to everything. And you did your best today. Don't forget that."

"Um, thanks, Mr. Walp. You guys did good too, didn't let us down at all." Beca then replied.

"Well, we had to meet the bar you've set. Besides, it would have been too tragic to let all your hard work go to waste, wouldn't it?" he then said. "By the way, Beca, did you hide Chloe at your place the whole time?" Mr. Walp asked. "Because if that was the case, we could have done this sooner."

"Oh, no." Beca replied. "Um, there's this abandoned school bus by the woods near the private academy. The one a few blocks away from our school. We hid her there for a few nights. I figured no one would look for her there."

Mr. Walp smiled a little before giving a short laugh. "I do admit, that was a brilliant move." he said before giving Beca a pat on the shoulder. "I'll see you in a few at school."

Beca gave a nod in response as she watched Mr. Walp walk away, joining Luke in talking to John, Gail, Chloe, and her grandmother. They all looked like they were about to leave too.

Dr. Mitchell joined her as they watched them leave, Luke and Chicago leaving together in one car while John, Gail, Chloe and the older, much kinder, Mrs. Beale in another.

She saw Chloe give her a wave goodbye and Beca returned the favor, hoping she'd get a more proper goodbye with Chloe later on.

"We should go get ready. You still have school and I still have classes to teach." Dr. Mitchell then said. "You did good today Beca, I'm proud of you."

Beca simply shook her head. "I think we all just did our parts." she replied.

"So, what's on your mind?" he asked as they both walked back home to get that cut on his face bandaged up before leaving for work. "Are you afraid you won't see Chloe again?"

"W-what?" Beca replied.

Seriously, it's like her dad was a mind reader now.

"I hope not, or that we work something out. I know her grandmother lives in Florida, but it would be a shame if she left. I like her, she brings out the best in you."

Beca simply chuckled, shaking her head. "Why do I feel like you're fishing for something?"

"Am I?" Dr. Mitchell asked as they took the corner that led to their street.

Beca took a deep breath thinking about how her father's been fishing for information on something for the past few weeks.

Like he was indeed a mind reader.

"I like Chloe too." Beca then found herself saying, giving her father a curious glance as she waited for an answer.

He simply smiled back, and placed a hand around his daughter.

* * *

Jesse's had a very long day the other day, and so it would seem, he also had another one ahead of him that day.

It started with homeroom, with Luke coming in about a good ten minutes late saying he was held up with something important. Beca had arrived just in the nick of time, with a light smile on her face, so Jesse had simply assumed that it was something Chloe-related.

Especially with the whole situation they were having.

Jesse found out later that day that it indeed was, with Beca explaining that they finally got Chloe's step-mom.

"That's good news, isn't it?" Jesse asked. "So, why so down?"

"Yup." Beca replied. "And, well, it's nothing. But tell me, did you look into that girl I asked you about?"

"Yeah, Aubrey Posen, right?" Jesse replied, tearing a page from the back of one of his notebooks. He gave Beca a quizzical look as he handed it to her. "Why do you want to know much about her anyways?"

"Oh, nothing, just… Well, I heard from Benji before that she doesn't really have friends."

"Yeah, I heard from Uni she's very much stand-offish. I know Benji's tried talking to her to keep her company once or twice, but that was it. She basically just glared at him." Jesse replied. "Anyways, Uni gave me her sched, but that's about it. She doesn't really have any friends."

"Alright, I might check out that place by the lighthouse and figure out the rest of her schedule after school. Can I ask you for a favor? Keep Benji busy. Pull in Flo too."

"Wait, Beca is this still about the thing we found in the bus? Is this why you've been making sure none of us are alone or something?" Jesse found himself asking just as Beca was about to head to her next class. "I mean, you just successfully did that thing for Chloe." he added in a hushed tone to make sure people won't over hear them. "Do you really think someone's out there that we have to befriend someone form a different school too?"

"I just have a bad feeling about it, okay Jess?" Beca retorted. "Besides, there's nothing wrong with making a new friend."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right about that." he replied, letting Beca go. "Alright, well, I can go with you after school if you like."

"Nope, you go keep an eye on Benji and Flo for me. Stacie and CR are pretty much always busy with their things anyways, and those two are never alone, so we don't have to worry about them."

"And Chloe?"

"She's with her grandmother," Beca replied with a bit of a sad smile, "and possibly leaving this terrible atmosphere behind." she added before heading her way.

Which made Jesse understand what was up with her strange mood.

A victory that came with a price in a way.

If anything, it made Beca more of someone to look up to for Jesse.

There she was, one minute, not having a care about anyone else.

And now… now she was reaching out, affecting the way other people's lives were going.

Whether or not it might break her heart in the process.

So that's why Jesse kept his resolve.

Was Beca's hunch correct? It still felt like a gigantic leap in logic, to be honest.

But Jesse told himself, he was going to do his damn best with his part.

He wasn't going to let Beca down.

* * *

Beca was stumped.

Sure, Jesse told her that Aubrey was standoffish, and Benji repeated the same thing to her that afternoon when she asked about Aubrey again and what Benji knew of her in the hopes tha it could help her approach her, but they forgot to mention a whole lot of other things.

She wasn't just standoffish, she had that air of arrogant snobbish attitude about her that when Beca spotted her at the small gazebo by the lighthouse she had to do a double-take on her plan.

See, the plan was to be just straightforward with offering her friendship with Aubrey just like with Chloe. Sure, Chloe was trying to keep people at a distance and she did the same with Beca initially, but that was different. She did that because of what she had to endure.

Somehow, Beca was getting the vibe that Aubrey was keeping people away by choice.

Which meant, this was going to be more of a headache for her to deal with.

Beca knew, she can't take anything for granted. She was still worried about Chloe, it felt like she's never going to stop to do so, not until she catches the guy responsible for all of this.

Especially after he very nearly had her within his grasp.

But she knew Chloe would be safe for now, she knew it would be near impossible to abduct her now that her situation has changed.

So she decided to focus on the two other victims.

In a way, it helped her not think about Chloe possibly moving away.

Because it hasn't even happened yet and already she misses her.

But onto the more pressing issue…

Her problem with Flo was already being taken care of, in a way it was actually the easiest to solve.

But with Aubrey, it was starting to seem impossible. Because how do you approach someone who prefers her own company over other seemingly less intellectual people?

If anything, that was what she got when Aubrey actually spotted her and gave her an appraising look before chortling a bit and returning her attention to the book she was reading.

Which just happened to be  _King Lear._ Of course it had to be Shakespeare.

Beca sighed, remembering what Luke said to her that afternoon before leaving. She wanted to seek out advice from the ever so popular with the ladies teacher on how to approach someone you don't know.

"Beca, first Chloe and now a different girl?  _Tsk. Tsk. Tsk._ I never imagined you'd be such a Cassanova. You know that's a red card in my book." he had teased.

To which Beca's fumbling response was, "Oh come on, students flirt with you all the time! Even Mrs. Khristorozhdestvensky, our senior librarian, fawns over you!"

Luke had laughed at her antics. "Yes, but I do keep it professional." he replied. "I'm still your teacher."

"But I assume you do have a girlfriend, right?"

"Ah, so this  _is_ dating advice then. Beca, what would Chloe feel?" Luke had then reprimanded with a light chuckle.

This was the reason why he was one of Beca's favorite teachers, he was easy to talk to.

But also very infuriating when he tried to be buddy-buddy with you.

"No. It's not." Beca had replied with a serious tone. "I just think, you know, you'll never know what kind of impact you can actually leave behind if you just try to cross the bridge and reach out to someone. I had that with Jesse and the others. And even before I reached out to Chloe, she used to do that herself with me."

Luke nodded before giving Beca a smile. "Does this person know you? Because you know, that shouldn't be too hard." he had said, finally starting to give good advice.

"No, we haven't met. I just had a friend mention to me that this person doesn't really have friends." Beca had replied.

"Oh, well, then be attentive. Strike up different topics when you approach them, like sports, or music, or movies, or books. Then when you find what it is they share an interest with you, the conversation flows easy from that." Luke had then said, giving Beca a warm smile. "I'm sorry for teasing you Beca, but I'm glad you're keeping the ball rolling here. I wish you luck."

"Thanks Sir Luke." Beca had replied then.

But now she wished she had asked him what to do when it seemed that she had nothing in common with said person of interest.

So Beca decided to keep her distance, popping her earbuds on despite not really listening to any music so she could stay on high alert. She figured she could focus on watching Aubrey at a distance for a day before trying to approach her tomorrow.

Beca found herself constantly checking on Aubrey. From what she gathered she was happily reading for a good hour and a half before she finally got up and started walking. Beca followed suit, slowly but surely, making sure Aubrey doesn't notice her. She lets Aubrey cross streets way ahead of her and Beca would wait until she's far away enough before following suit. She'd let Aubrey turn onto a street and use the reflective surfaces of passing vehicles and parked cars to track her movements before going down the same street.

She didn't want to give the impression she was following her.

Soon, Beca found herself on Main St., just outside a three floor building with different office spaces. From the business listed on the wall, she assumed that the reason Aubrey entered the building was to go to the study center on the second floor. Based on the time Aubrey went in and the schedule of study sessions on the board for the center, she managed to figure out what time Aubrey was going to leave.

So Beca decided to hang out at the café across the street to do some homework, set an alarm on her phone and check every five minutes or so if Aubrey had to leave earlier than intended. After all, she had at least two hours to kill.

The study center seemed to be for peer tutoring and advanced lessons for those who want to stay ahead of their lessons. More and more, Beca was understanding that she would have to make quite the impression for Aubrey to consider her offer of friendship. It just seemed like they were from two different worlds.

But nevertheless, whether or not it would be a pain for Beca to befriend her, she knew she had to do it.

Just because Chloe and Flo was safe for now, doesn't mean anyone else had to be taken and killed.

And she swore to herself, she would save all of them. Benji, Flo, Chloe, her dad, and Aubrey too.

Because none of them deserved the Fate that had befallen them the first time around.

Beca left the café five minutes before the end of the study session to get to the same side of the road before Aubrey left. She told herself, if she saw an opening she was going to just go for it. There was no time to waste after all.

Right on cue, she saw Aubrey heading out along with some of the other students. She was walking all alone, Beca following her a few steps behind, trying to build her confidence.

And just as she was about to reach out to her, her phone rang.

It was her dad.

"What?" Beca asked a bit irked at his wrong timing.

But no one can really blame him for wanting to know when Beca was heading home and she doesn't exactly have her usual reason of hanging out with Chloe to use that day.

So she went with the first thought that popped her head upon seeing the little grocery store at the corner of the street, watching as Aubrey enter it. "I… well, we ran out of milk. So I was gonna buy milk…. Yeah, okay, I'll by some bread too. Bye pops."

As soon as Beca hung up, she steeled herself to catch up to Aubrey, and apparently buy milk and bread, when she heard a familiar voice call out to her.

"Huh, Beca? What're you doing here?" she heard Luke ask as he caught up to her.

Beca tried her best not to curse, because of course, another obstacle.

And at that point she just saw Aubrey leave.

"Oh, I was just um…" Beca started to say as she was about to give her pathetic excuse of milk and bread when Luke turned his attention to someone else.

"Hey Chi, what're you doing here?" Luke then asked.

"I could ask the same thing." Mr. Walp replied cheerily as Beca saw him cross the street coming from the opposite direction of the study center.

"Oh, I teach at the study center. It's an easy enough extra job to do. Dates are expensive after all." Luke replied with a joke.

"And I assume Ms. Mitchell is also your student there?" Mr. Walp replied.

"Ah, no. Milk and bread. I need to buy milk and bread." Beca then quickly replied.

Because seriously, it's one thing to run into your teachers at school or see them outside because of extenuating circumstances.

But run into them on a strangely casual encounter was weird on all kind of levels.

"Perfect, I need to swing buy and buy chocolates." Mr. Walp then said.

"Date night?" Luke then asked. "Well, I'll leave you two to it." he then said, turning to leave, heading back to the direction of the study center.

And thus leaving Beca awkwardly shuffle into the grocery store with Mr. Walp in his causal threads. "So, didn't know you've got a girlfriend Mr. Walp. Is she a teacher too?"

He smiled. "Yeah, and no, she's a grad student at the university."

"Oh." Beca then awkwardly mumbled as a response as they filed in line for the register, making small talk.

So she figured, she could make use of this situation and turn it into an advantage. "Um, so Mr. Walp, just out of curiosity, got any advice on making friends with someone that doesn't know you?"

"Huh, that's a tough one." he replied thoughtfully. "I just usually keep talking about things I like and wait for them to react to one, you know, figure out what it is they like in response and then take the conversation down that path. It helps in getting them to get their guard down. It's easier that way, people don't usually open up otherwise."

"Ah, I see." Beca replied. "It's kinda similar with what Sir Luke said, I guess." Beca replied, breathing a sigh of relief as it was her turn to pay.

And she could move on from her awkward encounter.

That night, Beca removed the Chloe-related materials from her crime board. Flo-related stuff to as they were on it.

But she kept Aubrey's.

And the most important bit stayed too.

The name  _Charles Timothy Westin_ and everything related to it.

Beca hastily hid her crime board back under her bed when her dad knocked on her door. "Someone's waiting for you downstairs." he said with a smile.

She gave him a puzzled look, she wasn't really expecting anyone, when she soon found the answer to who it could be.

Standing by their doorway was Chloe with a smile on her face, redcoat on, together with the pink gloves Beca got her of course, with her yellow scarf hanging loosely around her neck.

Beca smiled, asking her to join her upstairs for a bit.

"No thanks, I won't be long anyways, my grandma's waiting in a cab outside. Mind if we talk outside?" Chloe replied and Beca obliged.

"You're leaving?" Beca asked, as soon as she stepped out onto their front porch, closing the door behind her. She had her arms crossed over chest, forgetting her damned coat again. She was literally a step outside their house but the stupid winter they had that year was just too unbearable.

Chloe chuckled, taking her scarf around her and wrapping it around Beca's neck to keep her warm. "For the week, yeah. Just to the city, I don't really want to go back to the house yet. But I've talked to my grandmother and I think your dad helped in convincing her to let me stay the year here at least, and finish school. We do still have a few things to iron out, like selling the house."

"Oh, so you are still leaving for good." Beca replied, doing her best to hide her disappointment.

Having been so wrapped up in her investigations, she didn't really consider the thought of Chloe leaving.

And it sucked big time.

Chloe smiled weakly. "Right now she wants me to finish senior year back at Florida, especially since she's compromising to stay already for a while. My granddad isn't really in the bets of health, and turns out I do have family there." she then replied. "But we'll see, maybe she can change her mind."

"I hope she does." Beca replied, looking over Chloe's shoulder in time to catch a glimpse of Chloe's grandmother smiling and waving to say hello to her from the cab. Beca gave a small wave and smile back before turning her attention back to Chloe. "I'll me you a lot otherwise."

"I'll miss you too." Chloe replied, her hands playing with the yellow scarf on Beca's neck as she attempted to straighten it out a bit.

"But listen, Beca, you remember you told me about your deal with your dad, right? And how you're considering college now?"

"Yeah." Beca replied, not entirely sure where this was going.

"Well, I thought since your dad is a professor at Barden, you'd probably chose to go there if you have to, so… I… I was kind of thinking of applying there for college. See that way, we'll endure a year apart. Besides, there are things called cellphones, and laptops, and the internet." she then said.

This time it was Beca who chuckled. "So I'll see you at Barden then."

"Of course. You're not getting rid of me that easily Mitchell." Chloe replied, pulling her into a tight embrace. "I promise you that. After everything… you won't lose me that easily. I'll always be here for you too."

Beca wrapped her arms around Chloe, in a tight embrace of her own if only to hold on to the moment a bit longer. "Besides, I'm not leaving for good now." Chloe then said with a chuckle as she pulled away.

And Beca smiled. "I'll hold you to that." Beca then replied.

Chloe nodded, looking down for a second before looking back up to Beca. "I hope you know I won't ever forgive what you did for me, Beca." she said before chancing a quick glance at her ever so patient grandmother.

With that brief look, Beca knew she had to let Chloe go.

But not before Chloe returned her attention to Beca, saying what she needed to say. "And I hope you know you've always been special to me even before all of this. I don't know why, but I'd like to find out someday, if you'd let me."

Beca smiled, looking down a bit in attempt to hide the blush creeping on her cheeks, and simply nodded. "Tomorrow then." she found herself saying. "When you say good morning." she went on, not really wanting to say goodbye to Chloe.

Chloe nodded. "Yes, tomorrow.  _For parting is such sweet sorrow, that I say goodnight 'til it be 'morrow._ "

"That's very Shakespearean of you." Beca found herself saying. "Goodnight Beale."

"Goodnight Mitchell." Chloe replied, leaning in to place a kiss on her cheeks.

And that's how Beca watched Chloe go. In a daze.

One minute she felt her lips on her skin, and the next she was watching Chloe gracefully walk away with a promise of returning soon.

Beca felt herself reach for the spot where Chloe kissed her, sporting a goofy smile as she re-enetered their house, still Chloe's scarf on her.

For now, she had to content herself with that.

The lingering scent of Chloe's perfume on her scarf, the tingling sensation on her cheek where Chloe kissed her.

The warmth the fluttering butterflies inside her was trying to spread from her head to her toes.

And that goofy grin that replaced the smirk on her face.

"What?" Beca asked, doing her best to school her features back to the usual expression she wore after seeing that her dad was staring at her, grin on his face, an inquisitive look on his face.

Dr. Mitchell simply shook his head and Beca left it at that.

A darkness was still looming outside.

But Beca tasted her first victory that day after a hard long battle.

And she's found there was a light in the darkness after all.

Sometimes, you just have to be the one to spark that light of hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow that promise becomes very important later on. Also, foreshadowing... in Jesse's POV and in a certain scene with Chloe and Beca?
> 
> Now, clue of the update? Let's see… One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn't belong…
> 
> …in a certain little scene…
> 
> Oh, and the killer won't have a POV until I think chapter 23 or 24… something's gonna happen then… on some rooftop somewhere ;)
> 
> Also, also, what do you guys think of the song 'You are the Reason' by Calum Scott? It's something related to a future chapter… If you have a similarly themed song suggestion, holler at the comments, I'm open for suggestions :D
> 
> UPNEXT: Trial and error! A new potential victim? And Stacie meets Aubrey (yeah, there's gona be mentions of Staubrey, okay?)! :D


	16. Chaos Outside the Loop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With things going according to plan, Beca finds herself removing both Flo and Aubrey out of harm’s way, even finding a secret weapon in Stacie.
> 
> But every action has an equal and opposite reaction, and a past one comes back to bite her. Would she let herself be caught up with this newly unleashed chaos or would she use it to her advantage to unmask the killer among them?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHHHHHH. Sorry, I’m excited for the next chapter and this one too! There’s a reason for it. :D
> 
> Sorry for the delays, unexpected stuff from work’s been keeping me busy from finishing chapters. So I’ll try to do a double upload tonight with 17. If not, I’ll upload 17 with 18 on Saturday. I have an updated sched in the notes below for some brief changes.
> 
> Anyways, here’s chapter 16. Stacie and CR get into the loop of things, Beca discovers a new potential victim, and the formation of a risky plan to catch the killer?

She knew she shouldn’t think it. She really does.

But how anyone could put up with Aubrey Posen, at least enough to try to get to know her and possibly abduct her, was beyond her.

_Because seriously, how would any self-respecting kidnapper ever bother trying to talk to her and get her too… oh yeah… drugs…_

_Also, Mitchell, what the hell are you thinking?! Surely that woman has some saving grace._

So far though, that was far from the truth.

The woman was infuriating.

Beca tried, she really did. She tried immediately the next day after she followed Aubrey around a bit.

And trial number one ended up spectacularly in failure, from Aubrey calling her ‘alt girl’ to pointing out her questionable reasons for being friends, and how she wouldn’t hang out with someone wearing ear monstrosities, to practically everything.

Beca tried, she really tried.

But Aubrey was really testing her patience. She very nearly almost blurted out the simple truth that would probably land her in some asylum somewhere.

“So that’s why you’re dragging us now?” Jesse asked rather amused with the whole thing.

“Shut up, and yes. Besides, there is strength in numbers.” Beca replied still annoyed.

But hey, recruiting Flo and Jesse might just work.

If Aubrey was incredibly annoyed with Beca, she was sure that Flo’s quirkiness or Jesse’s usual boy-next-door charms could help her.

But of course, Beca would be proven wrong yet again.

Because apparently Jesse’s charms were plain, boring, and pedestrian to Aubrey.

And Flo’s quirkiness was just irritating.

“Come on, we’re just trying to be friendly.” Jesse said as the three of them tried talking with Aubrey that afternoon during her hour or so of reading at the gazebo near the lighthouse. “Benji told me you’re new in town.”

“Benji? The weird kid with the magic tricks?” Aubrey then replied looking at them with curiosity. “Look, do whatever you want, but I’m not a charity case. I’m don’t need your pity.”

“We’re not pitying you.” Beca replied sounding a bit exasperated.

“What do you want with me in the first place, alt girl? We’re not even from the same school.” Aubrey replied. “Why don’t you just go brood in some other corner.”

“I don’t want to brood. I want to be friends.” Beca grumbled, her patience was really running thin.

“What Beca meant is that we lived in the same town,” Jesse then said, “and you know, we’re typically a group of different kinds of people anyways. You seem like an interesting person we’d like to get to know.”

“And besides, you’re not exactly princess charming.” Beca added.

“That’s not really going to help, Beca.” Flo then said with a chuckle. “I think what our sometimes moody friend here is saying is that, well… what exactly are you getting at Beca?”

“Oh this should be interesting.” Aubrey then said, setting her book down. She was now reading _Twelfth Night_.

“I meant that we always go on in life, passing the same strangers on the same street, locking ourselves up behind our loneliness, whether its music and mixes, or books and studies. Not that those aren’t important, or you know, not that they mean nothing because if they’re our passions then they should mean something. But still, we miss out on a lot of things in life just because we’re afraid to smile at someone or say hello.” Beca said, thinking back to that missed chance with Chloe the first time she lived this timeline.

“And we can regret our whole lives for what it could be that we missed out, but that won’t ever mean anything. Especially when what we let pass us by actually means the world to us. I’m not exactly the warmest person out there. And for a while I thought having no friends was fine. I had peers, with these two and others, but that’s different from having friends. I knew them then, I pretended, I faked it, just so I won’t be lonely. But then I got to know them. And I’m so happy I gave it a shot because for once I finally understand what it meant to have people you cherish and who cares deeply about you.” she went on.

Jesse smiled and looked ta Beca before turning to face a speechless Aubrey. “Better than what you’d expect her to say, am I right?” he beamed with pride and Beca could guess why.

Because whether or not he ever says anything about it, Jesse had always noticed Beca’s distance before, in a past when she just used to pretend to care.

“That doesn’t change anything.” Aubrey huffed. “That’s you, that’s how you feel, not me. I have expectations that need to be met, my father demands nothing less, so why should I bother wasting time having friends and distracting myself from my goal?”

Beca heaved a deep sigh.

She was starting to get a better picture why Aubrey didn’t have friends, demanding family, a father she wanted to please, the need to excel and all… but she’s just not making it an easier.

Sometimes the burden we carry can crush us.

And sometimes we need other people’s help, no matter how little they could actually help you lift that weight.

But stubborn pride always gets in the way from asking it.

At this point, Beca knew she would need a miracle to get through to Aubrey.

Luckily, the universe was finally on her side.

And right on cue, her answer came in the form of one Stacie Conrad.

 

* * *

 

Something’s been bugging Stace for days now.

Well, weeks, technically.

It started with the new and improved Beca Mitchell, something that she was actually happy about. Especially since she seemed to be going for the girl that she’s been pining for from afar.

But then things got weirder after her birthday.

She and Jesse would sneak away, eventually dragging Flo with them. At first she thought that it was because of Chloe being away from school for whatever reason. Stacie would be worried – she noticed the bruises on Chloe a few times before, she’s been wanting to ask her about it but Stacie was afraid she’d pull away – and had been afraid that something bad has happened to her.

But Beca didn’t look worried at all.

And after a good whole week of it, Beca said that she’s currently with her grandmother with rumors being spread that some of their neighbors saw her step-mom getting arrested.

So perhaps, Stacie thought, that was why Beca was acting all weird.

Perhaps, it was because she helped Chloe with her problem. Something that Stacie most definitely was lauding Beca for.

It was incredibly brave of her.

And it was incredibly hard to be brave.

Stacie would know.

She failed at that for no matter how smart she was.

But now that the matter was settled, Beca was still sneaking off with Jesse and Flo, sometimes by herself. She would keep on insisting that none of them be alone, that Jesse make sure that loner of a friend of theirs, Benji, wasn’t alone either.

And Stacie just knows there’s more to it than meets the eye.

Something was just not adding up.

And Stacie needed to figure it out. Her curiosity won’t rest until she does.

“Okay, but why are we keeping a distance? We can just go ahead and ask to join them directly.” Cynthia Rose pointed out as the two stealthily followed the trio towards the lighthouse. “Hey, do you think they’re heading to our hiding place near the lighthouse? I thought we talked about not heading there during winter.” she heard Cynthia Rose then ask as they both clued in to the general direction they were heading.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure. And no, we talked about not heading there if there’s a chance of snow so as to not leave prints leading to it.” Stacie replied as they saw Beca, Jesse, and Flo heading to the gazebo near the lighthouse, Beca leading the charge.

And what does Stacie find?

The three of them talking to some gorgeous blonde wearing the stupid uniform of the private academy nearby.

“Who’s the girl they’re talking to?” Cynthia Rose asked, putting to words what Stacie was thinking at the moment.

“I don’t know.” she replied, a dozen of thoughts filling her mind.

They could find out, all they needed to do was catch up with the three.

Or she and Cynthia Rose could just stick around from where they stood and watch from a far and wait until they find out more.

After mulling over her decisions, Stacie decided on the former, taking a deep breath and strutting over to where her so-called friends where. Cynthia Rose followed suit, running to catch up to her.

“Hey guys, fancy running to you all here. CR and I were thinking of heading to the hideout since we haven’t been there for a while if you guys wanna join.” she said, sporting her brightest smile as she reached a rather exasperated Beca, a trying hard to be diplomatic Jesse, and a highly amused Flo.

“Ah, and apparently you lot have a club house. Things just keep getting better.” the blonde replied. “What are you, twelve?”

“Okay, that’s it…” Beca said, looking ready for a fight as Flo and Jesse tried to calm her down. Stacie simply chuckled and Cynthia Rose looked at them all confused with what’s happening.

“Um, so, who are you?” Cynthia Rose asked. “Sorry, that was rude. My name’s Cynthia Rose, my friends calls me CR. And this cool drink of water here is Stacie.”

The blonde gave them a tightlipped smile before introducing herself as Aubrey, grabbing the book next to her. Although Stacie most definitely didn’t miss the double take Aubrey gave her as she sneaked upon a glance before returning her attention to the page before her.

“So Aubrey, would you like to join us?” Stacie then offered, her curiosity even more piqued by the blonde that seemed to have gotten under Beca’s nerves.

“No, I think, t’s stupid.” Aubrey replied in a huff.

“Oh, no, no, no. You didn’t just call our place stupid…” Jesse then said, finally losing his cool.

“I’ll handle this Swanson.” Stacie replied in a whisper as Cynthia Rose calmed him down. Beca just gave Stacie a quizzical look and Stacie simply shrugged.

“Why would a hideout be so stupid? It’s a nice cozy place to just hang out, we’ve stashed board games there. I bet I can even beat you at chess.” Stacie then said. “For that matter, having a hideout comes in handy for some _other_ fun things.” she added in a flirtatious tone.

Aubrey bit her lip, as she looked up at Stacie.

Jesse was a bit at a loss, poor guy. His charms won’t work here.

Flo simply chuckled.

Even Beca who was upset from earlier couldn’t help but smirk.

“And why on earth would I be interested in any of that, fun _things_ included?” Aubrey retorted, her voice a little softer from her slightly sharp tone from earlier. “Besides, I’m busy.” she replied, pointing to her book.

_Twelfth Night. Perfect._

A book that just so happened to be Stacie’s favorite of the Shakespearean comedies.

“So, if you’re bored you can read your book too. I bet it would be better with company. We can even discuss any interesting scenes.” Stacie then replied.

And Aubrey scoffed. “Yeah, I bet. Because you all look like people who read classical literature for fun.”

This time it was Stacie who smirked.

 

_O Mistress mine where are you roaming?_

_O stay and hear, your true love's coming,_

_That can sing both high and low._

_Trip no further pretty sweeting._

_Journeys end in lovers' meeting,_

_Every wise man's son doth know._

Stacie recited. Aubrey set her book aside once again, speechless. It was clear she wasn’t expecting this. Stacie looked her straight in the eyes as she continued. All her friends looking at them rather amused now.

_What is love, 'tis not hereafter,_

_Present mirth, hath present laughter:_

_What's to come, is still unsure._

_In delay there lies no plenty,_

_Then come kiss me sweet and twenty:_

_Youth's a stuff will not endure._

 

Stacie quirked an eyebrow at Aubrey after she finished and the blonde looked deep in thought for a moment before her phone rang.

“I… I um… I’ve got to go.” she said as she rushed to fix her things.

“Shame. Think about it though. Join us tomorrow?” Stacie then asked.

And Aubrey gave a solitary nod before leaving.

“Care to explain?” Stacie then asked, turning to Beca as they watched Aubrey cross the street.

“Uh, just tryna’ make new friends. I’ve seen her alone here before, Benji too.” she gave as a reply as she followed Aubrey’s movement with her eyes.

“Uh, uh, shorty. You have Chloe. You’re not allowed to be selfish.” Stacie then replied, giving Beca nudged.

To which Beca literally snorted. “Trust me, all yours. So not my time.”

“Then why are you staring?”

“Oh, nothing. I… uh, you guys hungry? ‘Cause I am. There’s this café on Main Street that’s pretty good, I’ve been hanging out there for a while lately. Wanna join?” Beca then said.

“Yeah, I suppose.” Cynthia Rose replied.

“Sure.” Jesse then said.

“Yeah, we can kill time there.” Flo added.

“Or we can actually just head to the hideout since we’re already here.” Stacie then pointed out.

“Really? I thought you’d wanna join us considering it’s across this study center a certain blonde you just met goes to for some advanced lessons.” Beca replied with some kind of innocent tone.

Stacie simply shook her head and smiled. “Did I ever tell you how much I’m liking you more and more each day, Mitchell?” she asked and Beca chuckled. “Lead the way.”

 

* * *

 

The week had been turning out to be quite an interesting one for Cynthia Rose.

First, they made a new friend, Aubrey. Although technically she’s still warming up to them. Stacie was the one she’s mostly talking too.

Beca finally decided to let her and Stacie in with their after school activities.

Apparently Mitchell was worried about people, girls mostly, being alone on their own so she’s been actively befriending them.

“Here I thought it was only because of your crush on a certain redhead.” Stacie teased.

“No… well… maybe partly… but no.” was Beca’s response.

Which of course got Stacie and herself rather interested in what other reason there could possibly be.

Jesse seemed to know her concerns, and Flo too, but they didn’t elaborate much. Beca just reasoned that she read something on some paper form another town – something that was curios indeed because Beca never seemed to be interested in anything but music – and talked about this case she found about a girl who was a bit of a loner and got killed.

Stacie was a bit suspicious, thinking there’s got to be more to it, but Beca seemed to be reluctant to say anything else.

So, they let it be for now and focused on doing what Beca said, keep in groups, stay safe and all. It wouldn’t really hurt to be cautious.

It was with this idea in mind that Cynthia Rose tried to be more vigilant herself. She spoke to classmates who were alone at given moments, just in case, and tried to be a bit friendlier than she already was. And so far, their efforts seemed to be working well.

It was also because of this that Cynthia Rose grew more aware of one particular thing that she’s already noticed in the past.

That after the whole music class incident, most of their classmates have been avoiding Denise, isolating her.

Granted, what she did with Chloe was wrong and it was understandable that people would be pretty miffed too and not want to spend time with someone like her after what she did – setting Chloe up just because of her jealousy.

Because, yes, Denise _was_ jealous.

She used to be Chloe’s friend but she paled in comparison to the redhead’s popularity, often being forgotten.

When the most aloof and badass student in the entire high school population starts following Chloe like a lost puppy, with that said student putting more effort than she’s ever had in making small talk with others and into becoming Chloe’s friend, and having that said student also be someone you secretly had a crush on, well…

…Cynthia Rose could understand.

She herself was jealous of Denise’s secret-but-not-really-so-secret admiration of Beca, mostly because she’s always admired Denise herself… the matters of the heart of a high school teenager was truly complicated.

But that didn’t mean she’d stoop down into such a low level that she’d purposefully make Beca look bad. They were friends after all.

Like Denise used to be Chloe’s.

Cynthia Rose was a bit annoyed too, but she tried, she reached out to Denise only to be shut down.

And now she’s all alone.

And she wanted to correct that.

However, things proved to be far more complicated with Denise still holding onto her own vanity.

“You’re noticed too, huh?” Luke said after running into Cynthia Rose in the hall. It didn’t take a wild guess that he noticed her staring at Denise, who was passing by at the end of the hall, from a distance.

“Sorry?” Cynthia Rose replied, trying to hide the fact that it was true.

Luke smiled. “I’ve been keeping an eye out for any follow up trouble and asked Mr. Walp to be alert himself. We don’t really have that many incidences of bullying that’s reported but people who felt like what she did to Chloe deserved some justice might start picking on her.” he replied. “I think she needs to know she’s forgiven, I think she needs a friend now. So, don’t give up, okay? If Mitchell can get pass her own walls and reach out to Chloe, I think you can do the same for Denise.”

Cynthia Rose nodded thoughtfully as she focused on trying to get Denise’s attention yet again, befriend her.

But that proved to be more difficult than it seemed when you’re all but invisible to the person who’s attention you’re trying to get.

And mighty frustrating too, especially when you like them.

It’s like a double rejection wrapped into one.

That’s how she found herself in Mr. Walp’s office that afternoon, concerned about Denise’s isolation, her shutting everyone out.

But of course, Cynthia Rose worded her concerns carefully, mostly because majority of her concern were based on Beca’s wild assumption that there was someone out there who might hurt them.

“I see.” Mr. Walp said, after Cynthia Rose recounted her tale. “Mr. Westfield raised his own concerns, he was worried that with how things are with you kids these days there would be some retaliation. You know, bullying and teasing.”

“That’s sort of what I’m worried too. But I don’t know how to approach someone who won’t let anyone of anyone close enough. I don’t know, maybe I’m not the right person for this. Maybe she hates me and that’s making her feel more down, that the only person who’d bother being her friend is someone she doesn’t even want.” Cynthia Rose then said. “Got any advice Mr. Walp?”

Mr. Walp leaned back on his chair and paused for a minute, deep in thought. “I’ve seen her actively supporting different school teams, perhaps she’s been attending more events like that to feel less lonely. I don’t think her stand-offish nature means she hates you, maybe just doesn’t know how to let her guard down… let go of her pride and all… Keep trying, doing your best is the key to everything after all.” he replied.

“If anything, I’d ask advice from Ms. Mitchell. She seems to be an expert on this too.” Mr. Walp then replied with a chuckle.

Cynthia Rose simply nodded and left his office deep at thought.

Lucky for her, the first person she ran into was Beca. “Hey shorty, got a sec?”

“What’s up?” Beca replied.

“We need to talk about Denise.”

 

* * *

 

_No._

_No, no, no, no, no._

The whole thing was unprecedented.

The very thought of it never crossed Beca’s mind.

But with Stacie keeping Aubrey busy with endless dates, and Flo, Cynthia Rose, and Beca hanging out more and more, with Chloe safe with her grandmother’s company and Beca’s own – she swore by it – when she’s back from the short mini-break that she undoubtedly needed, with Jesse also pulling Benji along, and for crying out loud even Tom to an extent, any possible suspect, any possible victim was out of the picture.

Everyone should be safe now.

But just as Cynthia Rose said, because of the whole incident with the jealous Denise, well, now she was being isolated. Now, her friends have turned their back away from her.

Now she was alone, hanging out at the playground by herself, or watching the ice hockey matches by herself, both home and away games so that she won’t feel so lonely by being surrounded by people, even if they’re not with her. Now she would walk home alone, or seat by herself somewhere.

She was pushing people away, because like Aubrey, she’d rather not have the pity of being alone.

And it would seem that she was also pushing Cynthia Rose away when she tried to talk to her about it.

Did Beca really unwittingly create another potential victim when she stood up for Chloe then?

If so, this was uncharted territory.

If so, that meant they were still stuck in the loop of kidnappings despite having moved passed the events Beca knew would happen.

The killer was still out there somewhere, Beca knew without a shadow of a doubt.

And Denise was just too tempting of a case to ignore.

Especially when Beca has ruined his plans so far.

 _What do I do?_ Beca asked herself as she paced back and forth in her room. Her crime board updated yet again, with no more Flo and Aubrey on the list, with just figuring out the real identity of Charles Timothy Westin stuck there.

_His identity is the key… it’s the only way this will stop… if we stop him… if we catch him…_

_No one is safe until then._

Beca found herself stopping in front of the board, vaguely recalling Tom mentioning some upcoming game during that time that Jesse dragged him along with Benji to the youth center the other day.

There was an away game against their rival school from the neighboring town in a few days’ time.

And Beca new, it would be her perfect chance.

The perfect time for the killer to act if he wanted to abduct Denise.

And it would be the perfect time to set a trap.

Her trap.

It would be quite the gamble, Denise’s life would hang in the balance.

 _No, it doesn’t have to be that way._ Beca thought.

Not if she acts quickly.

Not if her purpose wasn’t to catch him just yet but know his identity, test who would approach Denise in a moment when she’s at her most vulnerable.

And watch before swooping in to make sure nothing happens to here.

It would be the perfect first step before a bigger plan.

One that would require much help and preparation.

But the right direction, then Beca knew for sure that she can stop this.

That’s why she was set on her decision.

_It’s time to end this._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Figured it out yet? :D
> 
> Next chapter will be intense and suspenseful (?) so prepare yourself. I’ll upload 17 tonight. If not, I’ll do a double upload for either Saturday or Sunday (I’m shooting for Saturday latest). If all goes well with my work sched, 18 will be up on Saturday, 19 on Sunday, and 20 on Monday. I’ll be taking a break between Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday to finish my ‘Your Lie in April’ Bechloe fic. I’ll pick up with this one on Friday next week again.
> 
> BTW, Aubrey will play more of a role later on, and we’ll also see Emily soon.
> 
> Oh, and time to lock in your answers guys…
> 
> UPNEXT: A hockey match, a missing player, a food delivery, a supportive teacher or two, and an chilling fate!!!


	17. Prey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca Mitchell, a girl with an ability called Revival, traveled ten years back in time twice to save her friends and her father from some ill fate. Now, the race is on to unmask the killer and set a trap. The only question is, who will be the prey?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took me longer to finish Beca’s POV… sorry for delays… and the typos, I’m afraid there might be a few I didn’t catch…
> 
> Don’t hate me on how this chapter ends… that is all I say…
> 
> Cliffhanger-y end is cliffhanger-y.
> 
> Anyways, here’s chapter 17. Majority of it is in Beca’s POV, we have a Chloe POV in the middle and later on (again, put your torches and pitchforks down folks, it’s what happened in the OG series… Beca’s POV at least).

Beca’s been plotting for the last two days.

How else would she be spending her free time with Chloe still gone with her grandmother? Jesse’s been on a mission to get Benji to try and be more outgoing, Beca swears Stacie’s on a mission to woo Aubrey, and Flo and Cynthia Rose has been on a mission to keep an eye out for anyone who might need a friend to talk to. The two of them had also tried reaching out to Denise a few times over but still to no avail.

Which meant that Beca had no other choice but to proceed with her plan so far.

She could feel both anticipation and dread as the moment came closer and closer. She could feel it, the answer she’s been looking for was just well within her reach.

Today was the game Tom had mentioned.

Today Beca would figure out his identity.

And today she promised to herself that she’s gonna figure out a way to stop him once and for all.

“You look like you’re on a mission.” Dr. Mitchell commented as he watched Beca move about the kitchen, grabbing a quick breakfast to get an early start for the day. Normally, Beca would stay in later on days like this when they experience some dusting at night. It’s been snowing on and off but no great snow storm has come their way just yet. Apparently that was reserved for the weekend based on the forecast. But the temperatures have been drastically decreasing the past few days.

Which meant Beca would normally stay in bed later than she should, school or not, laze around a bit, and dare come to school late.

But no, not today.

Because it’s like there’s a mantra in her head that kept repeating it.

_Today was the day._

And Beca felt it to be true.

“Oh, just got a couple of things to stay on top of.” Beca replied. “By the way, I might come home late tonight.”

“Early mornings and late nights still? You’ve been very busy with your friends lately.” Dr. Mitchell commented. “How late tonight?”

“Yeah, we’ve been expanding the group and all.” Beca said with a shrug. “And I’m not sure yet.”

“Well, as long as you’re back before midnight, still a school night Becs.” Dr. Mitchell noted and Beca nodded in response. “Do call me when you know when you’ll be back.”

“Yep, will do.” Beca replied a she headed towards the door, stopping only when she could feel her dad staring at her intently with a proud smile. “What?”

“I just realized how much you’ve grown these past few weeks.” Dr. Mitchell then said leaving Beca a bit speechless.

But, then again, technically she _was_ all grown up.

She’s just quite literally reliving her childhood.

Beca simply shook her head and smiled back at her father. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t get all mushy on me now. I’ll see you tonight dad.” she replied before rushing out.

Missing the look of amazement on Dr. Mitchell’s face as she did.

It was, after all, the first time she called him ‘dad’ again since her mother had died.

* * *

 

Chloe was on her way to school again, for the first time in about a week or so. She and her grandmother grabbed a quick breakfast at the diner on Main Street before splitting up. Her grandmother had paperwork to deal with and she had to go back to her daily routine.

She walked along with the few groups of students headed to their school, passing by some from the private academy nearby as well. Since the direction she was taking now wasn’t her usually way, Chloe couldn’t help but think how a change in perspective paint you a different picture of a town you already knew. The walk to school had always been so somber around their neighborhood but it was a bit busier downtown, more cheerful.

Or perhaps it was because for the first time in close to a year she was starting to feel like her old self again.

Lighter, happier.

Like the darkness had been lifted and the cold of winter was all that was reminding Chloe that it was neither spring nor summer just yet.

“I’m telling you Mitchell, I can walk on my own.” she then heard someone say a few steps ahead of her. Her ears automatically tuned in to her as soon as she heard the familiar last name.

“And I’m telling you that I’m just doing what Stacie asked. I owed her one, she usually walks with you to school now that you’re all buddy-buddy, and I’m her replacement just for this morning cause she’s running late.” she then heard the short brunette, who was undoubtedly Beca by the sound of it if the combat boots were anything to go by, walking next to her.

“Yes, well this started as your inane idea.” the blonde had argued.

Beca was about to give her retort when she spotted Chloe. A smile began to dawn upon her features as Chloe picked up her pace and join them. “You’re back.” Beca said breathlessly.

“Yeah, yeah I’m back.” Chloe replied, eying the blonde with her curiously what with her uniform telling Chloe that she’s from the private academy.

“Oh right, this is Aubrey Posen, our new friend.” Beca then said dryly.  “Aubrey, this is Chloe.”

“Hi.” Chloe cheerily replied.

“Good morning.” was Aubrey’s reply.

The three of them stood awkwardly for a while before Beca explained to Chloe what she had overheard earlier. That she’s walking her to school as a favor for Stacie.

And once Aubrey was at the private academy, Beca proceeded to explain how they’ve been trying to make friends with people their age, especially girls, who spend most their time alone. She might have added that walking Aubrey was a favor to Stacie a few good times over to emphasize the point that it was, and will forever be, their thing. This one time was just a favor she needed to repay. Because yes, Beca was most definitely still worried about what they found in the bus.

That and she was most definitely still feeling guilty about putting Chloe in danger because of it.

Chloe smiled. She’s always wondered what kind of person Beca Mitchell was behind her walls and seemingly impenetrable defenses.

Turned out that DJ Badass was sweet and kind and emphatic.

That she worried about other people, wise beyond their age.

And that she was the type of person who won’t stop until the people she loved were a hundred percent safe.

“But anyways, I missed you Chlo.” Beca then said, reaching out to grab Chloe’s hand in her own, interlacing their fingers together.

“I’ve miss you too.” Chloe admitted, as she held Beca’s hand tightly in hers, giving it a bit of a squeeze to add emphasis to what she said. She took her eyes from Beca for a second, looking on ahead to the bright and sunny day ahead of them.

This, despite the insanely cold temperature that morning. “You’re hands are cold. Where are the gloves I made you?”

“Crap! Forgot them at home. I was rushing.” Beca admitted, looking worried. “And yours?”

“In my pack. I took them off when I had breakfast. I forgot to put them back on.” Chloe replied with a chuckle. “Although, I do suppose this has become a bad habit between us.”

“Yeah, I suppose.” Beca replied with a chuckle.

But cold hands aside, Chloe was happy about the sunshine breaking through the clouds, reaching them.

Like a tiny spark illuminating the dark.

“So, you busy tonight?” Chloe found herself asking as they were nearing their school.

Beca hummed in response, looking thoughtful for a brief moment. “Believe it or not, I was planning to watch the away game for the ice hockey team.”

“You’re going to cheer on Tom for me?” Chloe asked with a scoff, curious as to why Beca would go to such thing. She never showed any interest in sports before.

“No, just wanted to see what it was about.” Beca replied, looking away. “’Sides, Tom’s still suspended from the team.”

“How do you know more about him than me? Granted, ex-boyfriend and all, emphasis on the _ex_.” Chloe then mumbled in response.

“Can we not talk about him… err… you know?” Beca awkwardly replied. “And Jesse, he sometimes runs into him when he hangs out with Benji. We did talk a bit for a while back too.”

Chloe simply nodded and noted Beca’s reaction for future purposes.

Although it did make her feel something to know that she at least seemed jealous of Tom whenever Chloe would bring up their past relationship.

“Well then, okay. But after?” Chloe then asked. “I mean, I have to help out my grandmother with a few things anyways. But after, can I swing by at your place? We only have until the end of this school year guaranteed before I apply to Barden and all.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’d love that.” Beca quickly replied with a huge smile.

And Chloe found that it was a good morning indeed.

* * *

 

Beca kept an eye out for Denise over the rest of the day whenever she could, her friends too, but mostly she just focused on spending some time with Chloe now that she was back.

Life is short and all, she’s learned that over and over again. And sometimes, the missed moments could carry the most weight.

Lunch was spent at the library, with Chloe catching up on missed work and Beca just smiling like an idiot staring at her. She got constant updates from Flo and Cynthia Rose who was on Denise-watch duty for most part of the day.

Mostly because they were supposed to join her at the game later but Flo’s sister asked a favor for some random errand and Beca didn’t want to take any chances that she might still be targeted.

Which was also why she made Chloe promise that her grandmother drop her off when she visits later. She can always walk her home and resume their usual routine.

“Beca, we’re staying at the inn downtown. She doesn’t want to step foot in the house right now and I kind of don’t want to at the moment either. That’s gonna be a long walk home.” Chloe had argued earlier.

“Then I’ll ask my dad to drop us off. Or you could just stay over if it gets too late.” Beca had said with a sly smile.

“Right, and I wonder why?” Chloe had then teased.

Honest answer was that she just wanted to spend whatever time she had with Chloe.

But also because if her plans succeed, then she’d need to rally the troops.

And that also meant she would need to tell them the truth at some point, something that made Beca feel on edge.

Because how on earth would she prove that any of the things she said were true?

It would take the passing of time and they were kind of in a race against it.

To stop _him_.

“If you stare any longer, I’ll melt.” Chloe then said, snapping Beca back into reality. She kept her eyes on her math homework but she was nevertheless smiling.

Beca simply chuckled at the thought.

A part of her was still incredibly all tense, especially at the thought of having to come clean to Chloe about what she knew, but she hoped that when the time comes, things would pass as they should.

That it would just be a minor hurdle.

And then there was the other part of her that clung onto the same ideals that she had when her Revival had first sent her back to this time. She wasn’t going to let things just pass her by, she was going to live it to the fullest. And sure, she’s messed up once or twice already, but that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t treasure the quiet moments like what she had then with Chloe.

Because she was always going to treasure them.

Always.

So with that peaceful moment passing by, Beca steeled herself for her mission that afternoon. There were some shuttles organized by some of the faculty to take students interested to watch the away game and Beca managed to catch the one with Denise on it.

The same one that Luke just so happened to catch.

He tried chatting to Denise on the way but he was quickly shut down when she felt for her earbuds and placed in her ears. Luke soon turned his attention to the other students on the shuttle trying to talk to him.

A thought had occurred to Beca but she did her best to shake it off.

_No, no it can’t be. You’re just imaging things because of coincidences._ she thought to herself.

Luke was possibly the most popular teacher in school, he always tried to reach out to students who he thought were in trouble. He was charming, enough so that a lot of the female students openly flirted with him but he always did his best to keep things professional.

He just cared a lot. That was all.

But what if it wasn’t?

And it was ticking Beca off, because what if the person who’s hurt all her friends _was_ someone she trusted. Because she did trust Luke. He was her favorite teacher. He was everyone’s friend and mentor, patient and kind.

But what if that was all an act?

_No, Mitchell, it can’t be him._ Beca argued back to herself, trying to think of any clue that could have pointed his direction.

His last name was Westfield for one thing, it was close enough to Westin.

He knew about Chloe, but he didn’t know about the shed?

_But what if he found out some other way? Or what if he did know?_

Besides, her dad most definitely knew him.

And he was also a teacher at the study center Aubrey goes to.

_But he helped us with Chloe. Why would he help us then if it was him?_

Beca felt like she was going to be sick. She couldn’t bear the thought that it might be Luke. She knew it would never be easy, she knew it had to be someone she’s met before, someone she knew.

She just hadn’t fully wrapped her head around the fact that it might be someone she looked up to or trusted, no matter how suspicious she would be.

Beca kept an eye on both Luke and Denise as they got to the skating rink. There were a handful of teachers with them, some on the other shuttle, others arriving on their own to help make sure that none of the students would get into any kind of trouble.

Beca kept mostly to herself, keeping a distance away from Denise as they all filed in. They scattered about to find seats, with Mr. Walp and the science teacher, Mrs. Randell, already waiting for the rest of them. They had a box of drinks for the students, mostly hot chocolate to keep them warm. Beca grabbed one herself from Mr. Walp just as Mrs. Randell handed the tea that Denise requested, being lactose intolerant and all.

They watched as their school’s hockey team started warming up on the ice. Beca sat out far, keeping an eye on Denise who sat by herself somewhere in the back. She’d sometimes switch her attention back to Luke who, along with some of the other students in her music class, talked to some of their players, cheer them on, and tease them regarding dinner if they lost. Apparently the teachers decided to order packed meals from the Applebaum’s as they were at least more substantial and nutritious than what was available at the sports center where the rink was. Something regarding their new ‘nutritious food program’ at school that Beca never really paid much attention about.

So far, nothing much suspicious has happened. Luke excused himself for a while to head out, claiming the food was there. Beca followed him with her gaze until he was out of view.

Beca turned her attention to Denise soon. It was risky, what she had been planning, to use her as bait, but so far no one else had tried to gain her attention just yet. No one’s approached her. Nothing.

But then Denise soon stood up to head outside, leaving her stuff behind in the spot where she sat. Beca followed suit, keeping a good distance, curious to why her sudden need to leave just as the game was about to start.

_Did Luke ask her to meet him out before or something?_ Beca asked herself, still quite unsure about how to proceed with things.

Luke was still nowhere in sight as she followed Denise heading towards the back exit. The only time she lost sight of her was when some idiot of a kid who she guessed was on the other school’s team ran into her. It would seem that he was late.

Beca ignored his apologies as she quickly scrambled to locate Denise, having lost her due to the brief incident.

As she followed the general direction she was going, Beca found herself at a bit of a crossroad, so to speak.

The corridor led to the back exit door, true, but was also continued to the right where the bathroom was.

_So which is it, where did you go Denise?_

“Ah, Beca, what are you doing here? Game’s about to start.” Mr. Walp said as he stepped through the double doors of the exit. Beca gave her a quizzical look and he simply shrugged saying he went out for a smoke.

“Um, Mr. Walp, did you happen to see Denise when you were outside or when you were on your way out or something?” Beca then found herself asking.

“Oh, yeah, she headed out here…” he replied, and almost immediately Beca found herself running through the double doors to get outside.

Only to find the delivery van of the Applebaum’s foodservice company leaving the parking lot.

_Wait… wait… what?_ Beca thought to herself as she briefly forgot about the food order.

But that simply meant that Luke might not have been lying.

Still, Denise was nowhere to be found in the parking lot where she was supposedly last seen. With only the van on its way to leaving. And it wouldn’t be that hard to get a full view either, considering the exit was elevated from the ground. Beca ran down the steps, still looking around, but nothing.

_No… wait… does that mean she’s…_

Beca barely had seconds to react. If Denise had gone out and was nowhere to be found it could only mean one thing.

“Beca what’s wrong?” Mr. Walp asked, rushing outside to follow her.

She had to be quick. If they wanted to catch the van. “Mr. Walp, I might need a favor.”

Beca followed Chicago as they rushed to his car, a black sedan that looked to be one of the popular early 2000 models. “Beca what is this about?” he asked as Beca kept hurrying him up.

“We need to follow that van.” Beca replied, trying to figure out how to explain everything that was happening to her guidance councilor all while she fumbled around with the seatbelt in his car. She was hoping that he would be rather understanding about it, considering he did help them a lot with Chloe’s case.

“Here, let me get that. Still have to get it fixed.” he replied, pulling the damn thing towards him and fastening it for Beca. He wasted no time in getting strapped in himself and soon they followed the van that had by then gained some respectable distance.

But not too far, not just yet.

It was still within sight.

Beca racked her brains in trying to figure out what to address first. Mr. Walp’s question or who it could be.

It couldn’t be Benji, no. Benji was on death row when her father was murdered in her original timeline. He couldn’t kill her dad then.

Besides, he was hanging out with Jesse.

So who could it be? If Denise was in the back of that van who could it be that Denise would trust enough to…

_Tom?_ Beca then thought a she remembered how he was still suspended. He was on duty then. And it would fit. Somewhat.

He knew Chloe would be in the garden shed when her step-mom would hurt her.

He had access to the boots that implicated Benji, and to the freezer storage to, although it was made known to her that it wasn’t exactly a well-guarded place at all.

The hockey matches could have been how he met Aubrey.

But why on earth would he hurt Chloe? Didn’t he love her or something?

_Why, just why?_

“Beca, still waiting for your explanation.” Mr. Walp then said as they trailed the van that wasn’t too far ahead anymore. “And you’re shaking. Are you cold? Would like some of my tea?”

“I’m just worried, Mr. Walp.” she replied as she accepted the thermos form him, pouring herself a bit to drink. The warmth of the tea felt nice, Beca didn’t even realize how cold her hands had gotten until then. “And thanks.” she added, setting the drink back to the drink holder between them.

“How come?” he asked.

Beca took a deep breath and decided to just go for it. She didn’t need to implicate anyone just yet but she needed help. “’I think… well, I think there’s someone out there who’s abducting girls.”

“What do you mean?” he pressed on, sounding rather concerned.

“See, when we hid Chloe in the bus, we found a bag filled with questionable items there. Chloe said she heard someone enter the bus the night before and that’s when we decided to take her back to my place.” Beca edified.

“Ah, I see.” he then replied, looking thoughtful as she tapped on his wheel, still following the van closely. “Is that why you sought out that advice back then, about befriending people you don’t know?”

“Yes.” Beca replied truthfully. “I just… I’m worried.”

“Beca, you should have told me sooner, or Luke or your dad. We should have contacted the authorities.” Mr. Walp then replied. “Why are you actively doing this?”

“But we have no proof.” Beca then admitted. “I thought if I kept a close eye on Denise, he might try to grab her and we could get something. It was risky but it was the best I could come up with.” she went on to say. “As for why, well… I just… I don’t want to regret anything or think about what I could have done back then or not. I just want to do everything I can in a given moment.”

Mr. Walp simply nodded as they reached a stop. The Applebaum’s van was about two cars ahead of them. “I think that’s a valid reason. When you fill your emptiness, that’s one of the happiest moments in life, don’t you think so Beca? When you’re finding what you’re looking for, and then you get it… And the harder you find, the happier you get when you do.”

“What do you mean?” Beca asked, this time finding herself to be the one curious to know more about what the other said.

Mr. Walp simply smiled as the lights changed. Beca took her attention off of him for a brief moment to keep her eye on the van…

…that took a right turn all while they turned left.

Beca turned around in her seat, panic settling down as she watched the van get away. Her primary concern was Denise. That and what on earth Mr. Walp was thinking.

“Oh, don’t worry Beca.” he then said, nothing but calmness in his tone. “Denise isn’t in the back of that van. See, I got the drink orders and knew she’d be the only one drinking tea, so I spiked it with laxatives.”

Beca starred at him in disbelief for a minute or two, mostly wondering why he would do such a thing until it hit her.

Beca pulled her seatbelt out, frantically trying to unbuckle the damn thing but it seemed to be stuck, with the belt loop pulling her back more and more as she tried to wriggle free.

“Now, now, Beca. Calm down.” Chicago then said, sounding pleased with himself. “Trashing won’t do anything. I already tampered with it and made sure it would stay stuck, all snug and tight.”

Beca growled, her blood starting to boil as she realized how much of an idiot she’s been. She was still blind. She was too worried about keeping Chloe safe that she took it for granted when he and Luke helped them. It made her relax a bit. And once Chloe was safe, once Flo and Aubrey were safe and Chicago Walp was all but willing to help, she let herself be duped into trusting the guy.

She didn’t even think...

“I realize this isn’t how you thought you’re trap would work. I’m still just a bit astounded as to why you fell for mine.” he then said as Beca stopped thrashing about for a minute as she noted that they were entering the nearby state park.

There were so many thoughts rushing in mind at the moment. Questions of why, how, what could ever be an acceptable reason for the things he did, the things Beca stopped him from doing this time around.

But more than that, Beca didn’t realize she would feel this overwhelmed, her senses incredibly heightened as she tried to scrape up a plan to get out of there and escape all while one thought kept occupying her mind. _It was him._

Him, the one who killed her father because he recognized his face.

Him, the one who got away with killing Chloe twice.

Him, the one who killed Aubrey and Flo too.

Him, the one who craftily murdered Ashley’s dad and set-up Jessica’s for the fall.

Him, the one who sent Benji to death row.

“But where were we? Right, happiness. Don’t you think you’re happiest moment gets being updated? Mine just got updated today. I finally found _you._ ” he went to say. “See, I’ve been wondering why none of my plans would just work. For the first time, all of them upturned like someone knew ahead of time. Like someone was smart enough to predict them. When I couldn’t get to Chloe, when she wasn’t anywhere I could anticipate, I thought that was only you’re silly little crush. That’s why you were in my way.”

Beca grasped her belt as she tried pulling it hard once more, but the more she did, the more she found herself being pulled back to her seat. She started kicking about but slowly she realized that she couldn’t move much. She turned to look at Chicago with nothing but pure hatred, who still had a smug look on his face as he paid most of his attention to the road.

Something was wrong, she could feel it.

Something more than the fact that she’s stuck in her stupid seat.

“But then I saw you at the review center.” Chicago continued. “I picked her special, did you know? Because she had no connection to me, that girl form the academy. And I was supposed to take her that night when I saw you following her around. That’s when I started to suspect it could be you. I kept trying to observe from afar, saw you making sure all your friends were okay, safe. That’s when my golden opportunity arose. Denise was already on my list when one of your friends approached me sounding concerned about her. And I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist. You played along perfectly, Beca.”

And Beca hated to admit it but it was true. She played along and now she was like a fly trapped in a spider’s web.

But she wasn’t going to give up just then, as she tried to get herself free once more. Turning, twisting, as she yelled in frustration.

Her meddling made it hard for him to target Chloe anymore, so he switched from suspicious authoritarian figure being a guidance councilor with a bit of power over them to an all and mentor by helping them get Chloe to safety. In a way, their interactions regarding Chloe and his willingness to help allowed him to chip away at Beca’s suspicions.

And all of it just clicked.

It all clicked.

He said he was dating someone who was a graduate student at Barden… the current and rather peculiar – as Jesse claimed – Councilman Westin had a daughter taking a master’s degree there.

His comment about filling a void within us in his past speech… that’s why people do good and bad things…

And more and more it made sense.

Beca never told him where she found Chloe then but Tom spoke to him as well and he could have let it slip.

When Beca changed events the first time, the other pair of footsteps leading to the garden shed must’ve been his. With his own work at trying to reach out to Chloe even before Beca started meddling, he could have easily convinced her then to take her somewhere safe.

_And God damn it, Mitchell, he was the only one who kept asking where you kept Chloe!_

Beca kept trying to escape, wondering why Chicago was simply going on and narrating a story of how he started to become fascinated by death, all way back when he tried to drown a bunch of hamsters that a classmate had given him to take care of when he couldn’t. He was fascinated to see them all die, all except but one who climbed over on top of the floating bodies.

The whole thing gave him thrills. Being the youngest son, he was given pretty much everything he wanted, he didn’t have to work for anything.

And it bored the hell out of him, making him feel empty.

Because everything was just too easy.

Beca trashed some more, but her muscles wouldn’t cooperate. They started feeling heavy like lead.

She gave thrashing about one more time, kicking at the dash board as she struggled to wriggle herself free. That’s when the dashboard opened and out came the laxative he had used in Denise’s tea.

And something else…

…some other packet Beca couldn’t make out what.

Beca looked over at the tea in his thermos and that’s when she realized why all of a sudden her body wouldn’t cooperate with her.

He drugged her too.

“Oh, don’t worry, I also spiked the hot chocolate you had earlier. That’s why I volunteered to help Mrs. Randell out. One of them was already set aside for you, in the off chance you’d show up. If you didn’t, I would have kept it for myself and dispatched it.” she heard him say as they drove on into the state park, Chicago starting to drive off path.

On her last thread of hope, Beca carefully felt for her phone, trying to get it out of her pocket. But just when he did Chicago quickly grabbed it form her, her tired body and her slowly altered senses stopped her form being able to put much of a fight.

Chicago dropped her phone to his opposite side.

“Have you read the book called ‘ _The Spider’s Thread_ ’? It’s very interesting Beca.” he then decided to say. “A cold-hearted criminal found himself in the pits of hell. He had no good to his name, none, other than that one time he stopped himself from crushing a spider. Moved by his compassion, Buddha drops a silver thread of a spider and lowers it down for him to climb up to heaven. He does, but so do the other sinners so he tried taking them out, kicking at them, claiming that the thread was his and his alone. All because he was too concerned about his own salvation. That’s when the thread snapped and they all found themselves in hell once more.” Chicago then said.

“Then one day, I saw it. A thread on this girl my brother used to, well, for the lack of a better word, _play_ with.” he went on. “My curiosity got the better of me, I wanted to know if I can cut that thread, so to speak. She was the first. My brother was the second, I made it look like he killed her, and that he took his own life.” he added, grinning like a mad man. “And the thrill… oh Beca, the thrill of it. It was second to none.”

“You won’t get away with this.” Beca said, through gritted teeth as they began to slow down in front of a frozen lake.

“Oh, trust me. I already have.” Chicago replied with a chuckle and Beca noticed that he was wearing gloves the entire time. “The car, by the way, is not the one I usually use, if your simple mind would even think they can trace it back to me. See, it’s a popular and common model. I have about two or three of the same model parked in my sort of safe houses. So I lose this one, but you go down  along with it.” he then said as they made a full stop.

Beca looked ahead in front of her, fighting the heaviness settling onto her, doing her best to stay awake.

The drug she had taken was starting to affect her more and more, but Beca knew she had to find a way out.

She can’t give up now.

“Ever since then, when I see someone where I could imagine a thread above them, well, it was plain and simple. I needed to kill them. But I want you to know, Beca, this was the first time all my plans were messed up, and all because of a meddling teen.” Chicago said as he unbuckled his seatbelt, brought his window down, and got out of his car. “How did you do it Mitchell? How did you know?” he asked but Beca remained silent.

He opened the doors behind him, Beca trying to figure out how she could still sleep out of her seat but her vision in itself was starting to get blurry.

She tried to follow him around, her heart starting to palpitate more and more as the effect of the drug took hold of her even stronger than before. Chicago held one black round cloth bag in his hand as he brought down the windows on all of the doors he left the two back doors closed though.

When he reached Beca’s side, Beca tried swiping at him, but he was quick to dodge and finish his job, leaving the door open for Beca’s side.

Beca watched him walk around the front of his car until he stopped back next to the driver’s side.

“I guess you’ll never tell me.” he sighed, sounding disappointed. “But for your hard work, I’ll give you a prize. I’ll give you the peace you wanted this town to have.” he said with a serious tone as Beca glared back at him. “And for me, what I get out of it, I’ll take just one life, with my own hands.” he went on, taking out a basketball from the black cloth bag. “All for me.” he then said as he tossed the bag in the back seat and peered inside the car with a smile.

“Yours.” Chicago said, pulling himself away as he let the ball slip from his hand, rolling down the seat and onto the car floor where it hit the pedal for the gas.

And slowly Beca found herself in an unmanned vehicle heading straight into the frozen lake.

She tried, one last time, to slip free, but she couldn’t.

Desperate, she realized her only way out was through Chicago. By giving him what he wanted. The truth.

“I know… I know you’re future!” Beca yelled back.

But nothing.

As soon as the wheels hit the ice, the car toppled forward because of its weight. The thin ice gave way, submerging the car into the freezing cold water below.

The lake quickly swallowed her whole with the car, the water rapidly filling the car.

One last shot, one last go. Beca held her breath as much as she could as she tried with all her might to set herself free, her thoughts going back to her father, to her friends… to Chloe…

The memories they made together… especially the once she missed out before…

The breakfast banter with her dad, the study sessions with her friends followed by endless rounds of board and card games…

Chloe’s smile, holding hands when they walk to school and going back home…

_Is… is this what it means to have your life flash before your eyes?_

Beca tried, she tried until her last few breaths started to escape her.

But the whole situation was rigged against her from the start.

_I’m sorry…_ she thought as the last bit of air escaped her lungs.

And the freezing water took hold of all her sense.

 

* * *

 

It was close to eleven, and Chloe was feeling sick. The game was slated to start at a quarter to six that night. It wasn’t supposed to last long, even if they had a tough but great game ahead of them.

And the bus ride from the venue to get back to town wasn’t going to take more than half an hour, that is, if Beca didn’t catch the shuttle the students usually take for the game.

Still, Beca wasn’t home.

Chloe would know, she swung by three hours ago. She had since then called her grandmother, telling her that she might stay over at Beca’s instead when she finally gets home since she was worried about why she wasn’t home yet.

She had also since called all their friends. Stacie was out most of the evening with Aubrey, Chloe thought they might actually be dating. Jesse had spent most of the afternoon with Benji who had a day off from his usual duties at their family company. Flo was with Cynthia Rose most of the afternoon before the two of them went home.

But nothing.

No one’s heard of anything.

And Chloe wasn’t entirely sure what was going to drive her more insane. Dr. Mitchell pacing back and forth in his living room, worried sick that Beca hasn’t even called yet even after telling him she would and apparently even calling her ‘dad’ after a long time, or the unbearable feeling of dread growing deep inside of her.

Because something was wrong.

Chloe could feel it in her bones.

At the very least, she was expecting Beca to call or message her.

But she didn’t.

And she wouldn’t even pick up her phone despite Chloe’s constant attempts to call her.

Chloe didn’t even realize how mind-numbingly quiet it had been the entire time, not until the phone finally started ringing that she was actually startled by it. Dr. Mitchell all but ran towards the phone in the living, “Finally!” he uttered with relief just before answering the call.

But that relief didn’t last long, as a Dr. Mitchell soon fell onto his knees, growing week form whatever the person on the other side of the line had said.

It didn’t help when he started crying saying that he’ll be right there.

All Chloe could think was that he should’ve meant ‘they’ because like hell will she let him go alone.

The message he got was undoubtedly not good, not good at all, and Chloe could already feel the tears threatening to escape her yet again.

Because this was about Beca, no doubt about it.

Dr. Mitchell did his best to compose himself, taking all the time he needed to quiet down his sobs as Chloe watched helpless, still trying to grasp what was going on.

But one thing she knew for sure.

Chloe could feel her heart sink as a blanket of silence had fallen upon them.

She didn’t need to hear any words to confirm it.

Something had happened to Beca.

And even before knowing what, Chloe found her fragile heart was already breaking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well… at least we know who it is now, right? 
> 
> UPNEXT: The formation of a new investigative team and Beca’s fate!
> 
> PS: In case you guys wanted to check out the clues, I wanted to reiterate them here and added some I might’ve missed in Beca’s realization schpill:  
> 1) The only people who knew the full story on Chloe are Luke, Chicago, Tom, and eventually Beca. Jesse noticed the bruises but he has no idea how Chloe got them so from the start you have 3 main suspects who might want to abduct Chloe/choose her as a victim.  
> 2) Tom was my OG red herring mostly because he was connected to the Applebaum’s (he works there) and he was Chloe’s boyfriend. Other than going to the same school, he doesn’t really connect to Flo and most def not Aubrey. Luke was the long-game red herring having easy connections to all three. But like I said, the killer was smart, of course he’ll pick someone with no easy connection to him to add to the mix so as to keep him looking innocent and have suspicion drawn further away from him (other than setting someone else up).  
> 3) Originally, Chloe was abducted in the park where she used to run to when she didn’t want to be home, the same park Beca originally last saw her, but it changed to the shed after her birthday during Beca’s first Revival. The only 3 people who knew that Chloe was in the shed were Beca, Chloe herself, and Tom. It’s a minor detail that might have just slipped, but yeah, the location changed along with the date (day before Chloe’s bday vs around night of her bday). After being beaten by her step-mom, Chicago showed up to take her from the shed.  
> 4) When Chloe went missing, Chicago was the only one uncertain about comforting Beca, mostly because while he was playing his part, he already knew that he was lying about keeping faith. He knew Chloe was dead. This was also just a minor thing though.  
> 5) It’s implied that he tried to keep Luke at bay, taking advantage of the fact that they were friends, and convinced him that he’ll be the one to contact the authorities. He lied about child services the first time, and only called them when Luke wanted to call the police himself because Chloe went missing the second time during the first Revival.   
> 6) He only called child services in the third timeline/second Revival because Luke got concerned and reached out to Dr. Mitchell. He decided that pursuing Chloe as a victim was a lost cause. Also why he says “Luke convinced me”…  
> 7) In the second Revival, Chicago is more actively concerned of Chloe missing, approaching Beca about it himself, versus in the first one where Beca was the one who came to talk to him. He really didn’t need to since Luke already talked to her and Dr. Mitchell was involved in setting the trap too.   
> 8) He’s the only one who didn’t know where Chloe was hiding that asked Beca where she hid Chloe after the fact (chapter 15). He also laughed when he found out where she was due to the irony of actually hiding his paraphernalia in that bus and very nearly having his chance.  
> 9) In chapter 15, Luke was a teacher at the review center and Beca was following Aubrey. Chicago had no real reason to be there, the chocolate explanation was just an excuse he came up with in case someone spotted him there, hence the hint that one of them did not belong. It’s a throwback to the OG series where the killer offers Beca’s counterpart a ride home with his mom and he discovers candy in the glove box. The milk and bread comment was also a throwback since the OG hero’s mom was carrying heavy bags, thus hindering him from following Aubrey.  
> 10) Charles Timothy Westin/Charles Westin has the same initials as Chicago Walp. In the original series, the real culprit changed his name by marrying into the family of his wife and changing his first name. Some characters in Kanji can be read in two different ways, and he changed his name to one where he can keep using the same character. In this story, I used the initials to be the same. But also, the name had initials of names belonging to the 3 main suspects. C for Chicago, T for Tom, and W for Luke’s last name in this fic, Westfield, to add a bit of confusion.  
> 11) He’s also dating some girl in grad school at Barden (aka the other Councilman Westin’s daughter, someone Jesse briefly mentioned before – see chapter 13).  
> 12) When Beca asks for help in trying to approach Aubrey she both asks Luke and Chicago. Luke gave reasonable advice, albeit with a bit of teasing, and Chicago gave her a creepy vague response of figuring out a way to get her guard down.  
> 13) The response about ‘filling a void’ that Beca told him and the fact that he was the one who gave that questionable speech in the first place.  
> 14) His job gave him the perfect opening to get to know potential victims other than stalking them (I mean guys, he’s the guidance councilor).


	18. A Town Without Only You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nine years go by in a blink of an eye. Having just passed his bar exams, Jesse faces a new tomorrow as a lawyer who can finally prosecute the person who nearly killed his best friend, but first they need to find evidence against him. Joining him is his friend and fellow attorney, Aubrey Posen, who is already building a case. They work with a hodge-podge investigative team composed of an old friend turned police detective, a FBI agent, a private investigator who’s suffered a loss, and a journalist with a personal agenda. Meanwhile, his other friends all work together to find ways of helping Beca, waiting for that one day when she’ll wake up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I might actually leave you at 19 instead of 20 by Monday/Tuesday. Sorry for the delays (on that note, how delusional was I when I thought this would all fit in 15 chapters?). I went skating with friends over the weekend (Still have not fallen ever! Yey!) and then got distracted by the skating events in the Olympics…
> 
> But anyways, here is chapter 18! This was supposed to be a short chapter with snippets from different characters but I got carried away… We find out what happened to Beca though… 
> 
> Don’t worry, the fight continues! Chapter may also be quite sentimental, perhaps emotional…

He was already waiting at some street corner around their neighborhood when she got there. Jesse was staring intently at a few posters on some post regarding the district councilman's latest project. He had that look in his eyes, the same one he had the day they found out what happened to Beca. That calculating look mixed with anger and hatred as Jesse did his best to quell the fire of the steady burning rage that had been building deep inside of him these past nine years.

Stacie would always remember that day.

It was just too hard not to.

Until everything was over, or perhaps even beyond that, she would always remember it.

The news they received that morning pretty much shaped the future that was still ahead of them, after all.

It was homeroom. She was getting antsy, just like Flo, Cynthia Rose, and Jesse had been that morning. The late night call from Chloe as she asked around for Beca was the last they heard of her. She's been pretty much ignoring all calls from them after that. Beca hadn't been answering her calls either.

To say they had been worried was quite the understatement. Dozens of questions were already forming in Stacie's head as she watched Denise enter the classroom. Cynthia Rose suggested that since she was safe, then nothing bad could have happened. That Beca was probably getting to school late for something Chloe-related. Maybe she got in trouble for playing detective.

But then Luke entered class with no enthusiasm at all. He looked quite pale, in shock to be honest, as he trudged along to cross the room before settling down on his desk, head in his hands.

They settle down quickly after that. That was the first time ever anyone had seen Luke Westfield look so downtrodden.

A full minute passed with Luke doing nothing. Each second passing felt like an entire eternity as they waited for him to speak. Stacie kept switching her gaze to her confused friends, Luke, and the back door as she expected Beca to come sprinting in at any moment.

There was a knock on the door, and Luke waived for the person outside to enter.

Stacie watched curiously as she saw their guidance councilor, Chicago Walp, enter the room with a grave look on his face and an equally grave tone as he delivered his bad news.

Beca was found in a car submerged in a frozen lake at the state park, authorities were looking for the culprit responsible for it. Not much information was available but the police most definitely suspect that it was attempted murder.

Stacie felt cold immediately after hearing the news they just received. She turned around to see a look of shock in each of her classmates' faces.

More so on Cynthia Rose and on Flo.

But the look of shock was brief on Jesse as he snapped the pencil he was holding in half, setting his eyes in front, with  _that_  look in his eyes as they all processed the information.

"You said attempted murder… Mr. Walp, what's happened to Beca?" Jesse had then asked, as he looked him straight in the eye from where he sat.

Nothing escaped Jesse attention from that moment on.

And the usually cheerful boy-next-door they all loved was replaced by the soon to be criminal prosecutor right in front of Stacie now.

"She's in a hospital." their guidance councilor had given as a reply in as sullen of a tone as possible. "Teetering between life and death."

Those words pretty much stayed stuck with Stacie as she watched him leave, ending things with his usual schpill of if anyone wanted to talk about what happened and process things or if they knew of anything, then his door was always opened.

Though none of her friends ever actually did accept the offer. Mostly because they didn't even know where to begin.

Beca… the first time she ever gave a damn, she had to go an actually risk her life for something.

For them, for her friends.

It was the first time they realized the unlikely threat Beca had been going on and on about and chose to believe in was actually truly real.

Yeah, Beca was most definitely not playing detective after all.

Stacie took a deep breath and shook her head. Nine years, it's been nine years.

And that threat was still out there.

"Have you been waiting long?" Stacie asked, slowing down her pace as she reached the spot where he stood.

Jesse tore his eyes off the posters and shifted his attention back to Stacie, weak smile on his face. "Not that long." he replied before running up to meet her with a hug. "How's grad school?"

"Grad school." Stacie replied as she wrapped her own arms around Jesse. "Stressful, frustrating, but oh so definitely worth it when you make that break through. I promised I'll work on something to help Beca recover, didn't I?"

"Yeah, yeah you did." Jesse then said before letting her go. "I could still remember you making that declaration during high school grad. I'm proud of the work you've been doing, a saw a little article about your lab before heading here. We've gone a long way, huh?"

"Gosh, Jess, yes, it's been too long! But yeah, I am proud of all of us." she replied. "How's New York?" Stacie asked.

"Pretty much what you'd expect of a big city. Not so different from here, maybe a little bit colder, people-wise, not just weather-wise." he replied.

Stacie chuckled. "Settled in okay? How was the flight? You've been here for what, the last five hours and you already want to get started with work?"

"Don't blame me, blame your girlfriend." Jesse then said with a shrug. "Where is she?"

"Back at the base." Stacie replied. "She sent me here to fetch you."

Jesse nodded, looking deep at thought for a moment.

"Although if you'd like to see Beca first…" Stacie then said, reading Jesse's mind all too well.

Jesse shifted his weight a bit, unsure of what to say in response. Stacie could tell he was very much tempted to. He hasn't seen Beca since he left for NYU about three years ago.

Since he left that bold promise that they'll catch him for sure.

And by God, Jesse will be the one to get him in that prison cell where he belonged – something that Aubrey would always respond with  _they_ , they will all do just that. He wasn't alone in this fight after all.

"Has she woken up yet?" Jesse then asked, keeping his emotions at bay. But Stacie could tell the frustrations hidden by the simple question.

The lingering hope in it.

But Stacie simply shook her head.

"Then no. I'll see her when she wakes up, when we have something concrete in our hands to show for." Jesse said with a serious look in his eyes. "Because we will, Stacie, I promise you that. We'll get the person who did this to her."

Stacie simply nodded, trying not to think much about it.

There was so many thoughts, so much doubt in her head, as the frustration of chasing after what seemed to be a ghost was slowly taking its toll.

But Beca never gave up in trying to keep them all safe.

So she was going to do her own part in trying to help her as much as she can now.

She won't give up that easily.

* * *

 

"You took your sweet, sweet time." Aubrey huffed as she finally saw Stacie arrive with Jesse at the base.

With the base being a rather cramped but highly organized office space somewhere near the state university.

It wasn't exactly the most ideal place to cramp a good what, ten or so people at most in a given time, but the rent for the place was cheap. The room was surrounded by boards all around, a mixture of cork and white boards with notes and updates on their research. Somewhere in the middle, Cynthia Rose was updating a map with push pins as they try to figure out the radius of crimes the fiend they were after had cast his web upon. For some reason, Lilly, a highly decorated FBI agent and friend they made met in college, had insisted on calling him a spider. Sooner than later, Aubrey agreed.

"Aww, Posen, are you jealous?" Jesse teased. "You know I can't steal your girl."

"Excuse you, Swanson, but you're not exactly worth being jealous about." Aubrey replied, shooting his remark down without any mercy. "I just have a few cases back at work that needs handling. That and your dad would very much like for you to get started too now that you've passed your bar exam, which means we have to make the most out of our free time building this case." she then went on to say.

Jesse nodded and immediately asked what he could do to help. Stacie had to excuse herself to bounce, she was very much needed at the lab once again. Ashley, old friend, current private investigator, handed Jesse a few files to get started as she caught him up with what they found so far. Meanwhile, Jessica, freelance journalist and daughter of a man currently in death row because of the same spider they were chasing, headed straight into their small makeshift kitchen to make some tea and coffee.

Aubrey found herself marching towards the crime board to clear her head and focus. To her left, Lilly was typing away on their main computer as they tried to dig up more clues, history, anything really, that could help put away the man who did this to Beca, who killed Ashley's detective of a father after he swore to help Dr. Mitchell find who nearly killed his daughter, who framed Jessica's father for that death because he wanted to help his friends get to the truth, and who killed so many more people.

Allegedly.

The case they were building had flimsy foundations for sure, all could easily be excused to circumstance, and be explained as unrelated events.

But through years of digging for clues – through nine painstaking years of slowly putting together a story that many people who were originally involved in the seemingly unrelated cases – they discovered, it had to be just one incredibly crafty killer behind all of them.

The problem was, they don't know just how far back the killings go, which cases still connected, and which didn't.

After what happened to the alt girl – who Aubrey, without a doubt, knew she owed her life to – only three or so killings occurred, including Ashley's dad.

Really, the only reason why they had anything to start with was Beca's own little crime board, the one that Dr. Mitchell, Chloe, and Jesse found one afternoon after going through her stuff in her room.

They found a list of crimes that happened not long ago that Beca suspected was carried out by the same person – which, on that note, Aubrey was still very much confused on how she knew about.

That and initials consisting of three letters.

An initial Jesse gave a name to, but only to Aubrey, after talking about the case they started putting together in high school, six months after the incident that ended in Beca being in a comatose.

Initials that led them to a name that Beca shouldn't have known then, a name that wouldn't pop up until years later. But for now, Aubrey and Jesse were keeping their suspicions to themselves. If word gets out, well, it could cause a lot of hiccups for them along the way.

They had to be ready with an ironclad case before they do.

Sadly, the key to putting it all together happened to lie in a girl who's been in a coma for nine years.

She first heard the news from an inconsolable Stacie, who told her the truth about Beca's suspicions and her insistence to reach out to her if only to save her from some ill fate, something she didn't exactly know from the start with her then new friends trying to be vague about things. Aubrey would have scoffed at the idea, but the fact that Beca was almost killed only proved the point that there really was someone out there with ill intent.

If anything, the whole incident made her see Beca in a new light. And as the months progressed, as the police's futile efforts revealed no suspect, no killer, as Jesse's testimony got laughed out for insubstantial evidence, Aubrey felt the need to do something herself.

That's when she first gathered her friends and hatched the idea of looking for the killer themselves.

That's when they first started working towards the direction their lives had taken them now.

Aubrey closed her eyes, like a mantra she would go over the details of Beca's case for the odd chance that she missed something the first few times she went over them. She knew the details by heart now, always repeating it in her head when she could, when she needed to focus, when she's trying to look for something, a clue perhaps that would be similar to the other cases they found.

Beca was last seen before six in the evening at the skating rink where the away game for their school's team was happening. At some point, she left. No one was really able to pay that close attention as the game had just about started and they only noticed she was gone after the game was over. At that point, a few students had already snuck off doing God knows what, or so she heard form Denise. Some of the teachers weren't really that interested in knowing either. Only Mr. Westfield, who happened to be Aubrey's tutor at the study center she goes to, realized that Beca had gone and disappeared. But by then, it was too late.

Beca was found close ten in the evening. A married couple who was just leaving the state park noticed a car submerged two thirds of the way in a frozen lake. The husband rushed to check if anyone needed any help, wadding through the freezing cold water as best he could. Using a pocket flashlight, he saw the slight movements of a head submerged deep in the water. He swam closer to where the opened passenger door was and tried to set an unconscious Beca free but the seatbelt won't budge, a major clue the authorities later found that indicated that the whole thing wasn't an accident. It was attempted murder. The assumption was only confirmed after studying the contents of a thermos they found in the car later on. It matched the results of Beca's tox screening which had traces of some unknown substance in her system suggesting she was drugged.

The husband rushed back to the car when he couldn't get Beca out and came back with his wife. Using a Swiss army knife they had with them, he cut through the belt and got Beca free. By the time they found her, Beca was in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest, with a body temperature of less than 84 ⁰F, way below the normal range between 97-99 °F. She was on the fence between life and death. The wife, who was a veterinarian, immediately performed life-saving techniques while the husband called 911.

It took twenty five minutes for the ambulance to come with the police in tow, a rapid response considering the area they were in. Beca was immediately rushed to the nearest hospital, with the doctors working hard to save her life. Her father was contacted around eleven in the evening. Upon her insistence, Chloe came with him to the hospital where they arrived close to midnight and heard the full details of what had happened to Beca.

A day later, they heard that the car had stolen plates, registration completely lost.

Any clues that could have implicated anyone, whether intentionally set-up by the criminal to look guilty or not, was easily refuted by testimonies that Jesse and their friends gave and by contradicting clues the authorities found.

Moreover, the clues back in the bus disappeared without a trace too, and in the end, no one was found to be responsible for what had happened.

If anything, Beca's case stood out from all the rest. That was the one thought Aubrey always ended up with. It was different from all the rest for three reasons.

One, no one was implicated for it. In a way, Beca most definitely threw her would be killers plans for a loop, because there was still a chance that tangled mess of a thread he left behind with the case could still be traced back to him.

Two, she survived, somewhat. And Aubrey had always been worried about this. She was always very much stressed out by the one thought that if the killer knew, he'd try to find Beca again to finish what he started.

But so far, he hasn't made a move, making Aubrey beg the question of why?

Was he waiting for Beca to wake up again just to kill her?

Or did he not know that she survived?

But if her and Jesse's suspicions were correct, he should know she's still alive.

Or did he think it wasn't worth his attention anymore? That Beca was as good as dead?

Aubrey wasn't sure about that, but she was sure of one thing. The third thing that tied everything together.

It was still an open, albeit cold, case. And many investigators had tried to pick it up again but failed since then.

Despite their incompetence, it was enough for Aubrey to hope.

Because it meant that someone out there was still looking for answers other than them, people who she could eventually tap into and help them.

And if anything, Aubrey swore, she and her friends were the ones who were going to solve it.

* * *

 

Cynthia Rose thought that the best thing she could do that evening was leave the base, take a walk and take a bit of a breather. Maybe buy a few boxes of pizza for dinner too.

They could always just call for delivery from their usual place but the screaming match between Aubrey and Jesse was a bit unbearable at the moment. Jesse was insisting that the 'car clue' – whatever the hell he meant by that, those two kept talking to themselves somedays – was still essential during their re-discussion of Beca's case and Aubrey kept insisting that they need something more ironclad than a very common car model and make.

Pretty much most of them were lost with whatever it was that they were really arguing about, Cynthia Rose thought that there was most definitely something more to it, but she figured all will be revealed in due time.

At the very least, she knew both Jesse and Aubrey pretty well. Jesse hated building anyone's hopes up, and Aubrey hated making a move when she didn't have everything she needed to know.

Although, Cynthia Rose does have to admit, that they already had an uphill battle ahead of them. Not sharing their hunch, no matter how farfetched it might have been, wasn't exactly going to help them.

It's been nine years since Beca's attempted murder. The battle ahead of them still felt long and never ending, but Cynthia Rose knew they've also gone a long way. It started at their old hang out place in town. As soon as Aubrey found out what happened to Beca, her own guilt didn't seat to well for her. Guilt for being standoffish, for not helping, for not even showing any bit of appreciation for the efforts Beca put into just so she could keep her safe.

Beca who back then was just a stranger to her.

It wasn't much of a question then. Of course they all worked hard and contributed what they could. For a good few months, all of them were also in Chloe duty, the redhead being a complete wreck – not that they all were, but she was pretty much inconsolable.

Cynthia Rose focused on trying to get the case reopened and examined, from what they knew then, the officials definitely dismissed a lot of potential clues. Especially clues that their group raised because of their age and so-called "wild imagination".

That's why Cynthia Rose pursued the dangerous path she took. To become a police detective just like Ashley's father. Ashley would have done the same, had it not been for the terrible experience she had after her father's death, the precinct he called in mocking his abilities as a detective with trying to solve cold cases that they considered closed.

It's how Cynthia Rose managed to retrieve information they really didn't know much about before.

For one thing, they already knew that the seatbelt in the car Beca was in was tampered with. Any evidence that could lead to the owner of the vehicle was cunningly erased by the perpetrator.

No substantial DNA evidence was found in the car either, although somehow Cynthia Rose thinks that it was mostly due to incompetence in handling evidence resulted in that outcome. They've never experienced a case like that before in their town.

The most crucial and confusing of all the clues perhaps was the tests they ran with Beca at the hospital.

From those tests, they discovered traces of some kind of substance in her system that she seemed to have ingested. It matched some kind of new drug found in the streets, highly illegal. It was some kind of experimental drug being developed as a sleeping aid, however, pre-clinical trials resulted in highly dangerous side effects, particularly reports indicating temporary loss in muscle control. No one knew how, but a few dealers got their hands on it and the police was in active pursuit of the case when Beca's so-called accident happened. Based on the concentration in her system, she would have had consumed more than what was in the tea that the officials found. It was rather puzzling as the concentrations didn't match, the tea having a more dilute concoction. It led officials to believe that it was an effort to throw them off, and that Beca was most definitely given something else with the substance infused prior.

From early results of that study, they found that the drug took time to have any effect. Because of this, they believe she ingested something around the time she was in the skating rink but people were to shaken by the events that they gave contradictory statements, not being entirely sure if they saw Beca eat or drink anything other than the hot chocolate she had, something that a lot of them had as well. The police had been torn between thinking that the victim had then been randomly selected – if any of the similar drinks were the cause of it – or if Beca was directly targeted. Either way, because of the clear efforts taken to specifically kill her, it looked to be premeditated and many believed she was isolated as the target. Confusion arose when they ruled out the drinks the faculty ordered as a possible link because of it, with an argument that if Beca was specifically targeted, the killer wouldn't risk having someone else take the drink intended for her, and because only one person had something else to drink, it would have made more sense if she was the intended target.

The clues blurred together, and the case became more complex because of it. The authorities argued it was the tea in the car after all and Beca was the sole targeted victim, with the justification that she was specifically lured out – her paranoia of thinking there was a killer or kidnapper on the lose might have been some manifestation coming from the fear that someone was watching over her – the thermos was slightly opened after being submerged in the water, therefore, testing the sample led to inconclusive results.

When Cynthia Rose got her hands on that report and informed her friends, Lilly and Stacie basically called them idiots.

And Cynthia Rose most definitely concurs.

But while so many other confounding variables muddled the evidences they collected, Cynthia Rose was currently stuck on the clue about the car.

What did Jesse pick up from it?

The car was a black sedan, a common and popular make and model too. Many people around town and in nearby towns and cities also had it.

So, what was it? What was Cynthia Rose completely missing?

Her personal connection from the case made it so much harder for them to take an outsider's view of things that it's frustrating her so much. Or perhaps it was just the overthinking that's gotten her stuck?

Cynthia Rose groaned in frustration as she approached the pizza place.

"Oh, hey Det. Adams. Surprised you didn't call for delivery this time." Amy said as she walked passed her on her way out for deliveries. To say they've become local patrons of a few places in the area would be an understatement considering they basically sustained themselves through long days and nights of working on Beca's case with ramen noodles, Chinese food, and pizza.

Lots and lots of them.

"You look stressed." Amy, their usual delivery girl, noted.

"Just deep in thought." Cynthia Rose replied before heading inside the restaurant.

Cynthia Rose tried to clear her head as she waited for her take out order to be ready. She knew she was missing something from, she wasn't seeing the bigger picture that connected everything.

 _It's because I'm viewing things too closely, isn't it? Fixated too much by the information I already have._ she thought to herself.  _What is it? What am I not seeing that Jesse has picked up on?_

On her way back to their base of operations, not exactly calling it the night just yet, Cynthia Rose found herself passing by a poster regarding the new district councilman's fund raising efforts for the hospital downtown.

It was only a passing glance at first, but something about it had caught her attention.

She did a double take on the poster, walking back a few steps before her eyes landed on a name.

_Charles Timothy Westin_

Cynthia Rose stared intently on the picture before she realized what it was that caught her attention. He was much older, his hair shorter and well cropped compared to his old boyish and slightly longer cut he usually gelled back during formal school events, with streaks of grey starting to appear. He was wearing glasses too, large frames that sort of distracted from his overall looks, distorting a bit of his facial structure too.

But it was most definitely looked like him, their old guidance councilor, Mr. Walp.

It took a minute or two of intense confusion on why the current district councilman looked a whole lot like their old guidance councilor before it finally clicked, Cynthia Rose remembered the passing detail that Jesse seemed to have been so obsessed about.

_The car._

He had the same car.

Year, make, and model was a perfect match.

Except for the fact that his car never went missing.

There were still a million questions popping up in Cynthia Rose's head as she paced herself as fast as she could to their base, with all the boxes of pizza in hand.

But somehow, she understood Jesse's insistence.

And Aubrey's reluctance.

A person of power, with connections.

A person from their past with a changed name and new life.

Someone Beca would have chosen to trust if the situation was dire.

Someone who helped her before.

In a way, it was a paradoxical eureka moment for Cynthia Rose when everything was starting to make sense, and everything just got more confusing than ever.

But if there was one thing she knew, she felt like after all these years, she was finally asking the right questions.

And she wanted to understand more.

* * *

 

The office was tense when Denise swung by before her night-shift in the hospital. Being a nurse wasn't easy, being a night-shift nurse helping her friends serve a nine year old attempted murder case was even harder.

Especially when a few of her said friends had strong personalities that sometimes clashed. Case in point, Jesse was storming out of the office after some vague argument with Aubrey.

For the most part, Denise knew that she was never really good with the whole detective work. But that didn't mean that she wasn't willing to help.

When Mr. Walp told them of what happened, Denise was at a loss for words. She always admired Beca in so many ways, she always wanted her to take notice of her too.

She eventually did, just in the wrong way, and Denise understood that it was her fault too because she let her jealousy of Chloe get in the way.

But then she and her friends started reaching out to her, her pride letting things get in the way, making it harder.

That's why when she found out that Beca Mitchell, who never for once held any interest in any school activity in the first place, was only at the game to keep an eye out for her because she was worried, well, Denise was overwhelmed.

That's how she found herself joining the fold, hanging out more and more with Beca's old friends, with her old friend Chloe, and with Cynthia Rose, who she never imagined she would fall in love with.

The guilt Denise felt simply over the years. The guilt of surviving, after all, was such a terrible burden to carry. She found happiness with Cynthia Rose, no matter their current circumstance.

And no matter how that happiness felt right, it was tainted with the knowledge that she found the life she had because Chloe had to suffer nine torturous years to wait and tell the person she loved how she felt about her. Because it felt unfair that the person who wanted to keep everyone safe has lost nine years of her life and counting.

She had a life because of Beca's sacrifice.

Because the person she admired risked her life to keep her safe and was in a coma.

In a way they kind of all felt that way, Flo, her, Aubrey, and Chloe.

Oh, especially Chloe still.

Especially after all Beca's done to make sure she would be safe most of all.

That's why Denise worked hard. She, Stacie, and Flo thought the same thing, find a way to help Beca through other means, particularly in helping her recover for that one day when she woke up.

Denise was sure she wanted to make it up after all. To help Beca, to help Chloe.

That's why they all moved to Atlanta, slowly but surely.

They kind of all did.

They all wanted to help, from raising funds for the ridiculous sums that they needed to help keep Beca alive to slowly but surely trying to figure out how to piece a puzzle they couldn't fully understand back then.

Their hodge-podge crew of wanna be investigators started in high school and only grew more when they all decided to attend Barden for college. There they met Jessica and Ashley, whose respective fathers happened to know Dr. Mitchell and wanted to help him. They also met Lilly.

There bond only grew stronger after what had happened to Jessica's and Ashley's fathers.

Back then Beca was kept in the hospital for a good six months before being moved to a facility that better helped her, but because of the forever rising costs, Dr. Mitchell decided to move her home, and set-up some sort of home care system for her. Eventually, he sold their house back at home and moved somewhere smaller and closer to Barden. Tenured professor or not, the one thing that was clear was that Beca's medical needs didn't come cheap. With great uncertainty on the length of time it would take for her to wake up, Dr. Mitchell started to protect her future expenses.

Moving closer to Barden was for the best, it allowed all of them to visit Beca and help out, her, Flo, and Chloe especially, with the three of them being more in tuned to the kind of work needed.

There were days when it seemed hopeless, the situation itself seemed dire, and that Beca would never wake up.

But none of them wanted to give up.

Especially since slowly but surely Beca started breathing again without mechanical support.

But progress was slow.

Halfway through her, Jesse, Cynthia Rose, Flo, and Stacie's junior year in Barden, Dr. Mitchell accepted an offer at a university in Atlanta and decided to move. There was small facility within the premises of that university that specialized in cases similar to Beca and were constantly trying to develop ways to help care for patients like her.

Soon, they all found themselves drifting to the city as well. Flo for med school, Stacie for graduate school in biomedical engineering. Jessica, Ashley, Denise and Cynthia Rose for their desired profession. Investigation took a while to take off, with Lilly pursuing a career in the FBI, and both Aubrey and Jesse pursuing law degrees at Columbia and NYU.

But with the past year or so, they definitely started picking up the pace once again.

And now, it felt like they were back on the right track.

Denise was only brought back to the present by the sudden presence of Cynthia Rose, her wife, who stormed inside with about boxes of five extra-large pizza in hand. Upon closing the door shut behind her, she turned to look Aubrey in the eye and with a serious tone asked her, "It's  _him_ , isn't it? He's your hunch?" Cynthia Rose asked as Aubrey blinked back in confusion.

Denise looked at her equally at a loss with the sudden question.

"What do you mean?" Aubrey asked.

"It was his car! It looked like his car! And Denise's story of being sick back then, he could have slipped something in her drink too, with easy access! Aubrey, he knew we were concerned about her, I talked to him about it!" Cynthia Rose went on and on, feeling both rather emotional and frustrated and relieved at finally having understood the situation at hand.

"As much as I want to pin it all on one suspect, we don't have any proof!" Aubrey replied sounding equally frustrated. "And if we go after him now, he can easily discredit all our claims and ruin our reputation. We need to be able to pin him down!"

"What's going on?" Ashley and Jessica all but chorused.

"I think I have an idea on who the main suspect is." Cynthia Rose then said.

Yeah, things were definitely on a roll, and everything was starting to fall into place.

* * *

 

Flo was tired.

She was incredibly tired.

She felt bad that she couldn't swing by at the base that evening, especially now that Jesse finally moved to Atlanta with all of them. But thanks to an upcoming exam she needed to prepare for, well, that would have to wait.

Guilt aside, Flo knew this is what she was supposed to be doing. She was working hard towards that goal of becoming a doctor so she could help Beca somehow, so acing that exam was crucial.

It would bring her one step closer to that goal.

So that one day, when Beca wakes up, she would be there ready to help her.

But instead of focusing on her notes, Flo found herself thinking about other matters. In particular, the rather interesting medical case that was Beca's.

When Beca was found, the current temperature outside was 28 °F. As a matter of fact, it reportedly started to snow when the ambulance arrived. The water temperature was around 33°F then. According to the doctors who handled Beca's case, the low water temperature and Beca's rather small frame was what saved her life. This despite the same cold water slowing down her metabolisms, resulting in a few of her organs to shut down and stop functioning properly.

Flo could still remember that afternoon they rushed to the hospital to first check in on Beca. Chloe couldn't step inside her room without being a crying mess while Dr. Mitchell was doing his best to put on a brave face. Beca looked so frail in her bed, hooked up to so many machines. The sounds both her heart monitor and the mechanical ventilator that was allowing her to breath had been very unnerving. All Flo could remember of the moment was how blue the mouth piece that held then tube of her intubation was, it was a stark contrast to the pale white of her skin then. Beca was wrapped around in some thermal bag, as they monitored her temperature, keeping her warm. The doctors were also providing her with heated intravenous saline to keep her warm.

And really, Flo wasn't sure how she stopped herself from wailing and screaming then. She could just feel herself shaking as tears continuously rolled down her cheeks.

She never thought she'd see Beca as lifeless as she did in that moment.

In a way, she understood why Chloe just couldn't step foot inside the room.

Aubrey was too in shock, Stacie having dragged her along. She ended up being the one who had to deal with Chloe outside Beca's room. It was a strange start for a friendship to form, but it did result in a strong unbreakable bond between the two.

Stacie, on the other hand, couldn't make it more than a few steps inside. She needed to lean on the wall to keep standing.

Cynthia Rose was speechless, but she had to be strong.

She was the only one who could hold back a very distressed Jesse who kept blaming himself for not going with her then, claiming he could have dragged Benji along, or how he should have chosen to stick to Beca's side.

He hated that he downplayed the immediate threat that Beca sensed then.

Dr. Mitchell did his best to keep calm as he related what he knew so far. There had been water in Beca's lungs from nearly drowning. That was the first things the doctors had to address when she arrived at the hospital. They alerted her father as soon as she arrived and immediately extracted the fluids, and assessed her situation, running multiple tests to ensure that she gets the best possible treatment. Her oxygen supply was cut off which resulted in "brain death'. However, because she had rapid onset hypothermia set in first, her brain went into a state of suspended animation.

And nine years later, things just couldn't get any simpler.

They knew, at least Flo understood very well, that nine years in a coma didn't exactly spell good news for anyone. But they still keep fighting.

They still keep believing.

There was only so much medicine and science could do.

That's why they were all still holding out for that miracle… that the day would come, no matter how unlikely it seemed, Beca would wake up.

And when she does, they would all be there to welcome her.

But for now, they all had to work hard. They couldn't welcome her back without any sort of good news.

* * *

 

Jesse was taking a walk around the neighborhood to cool down. He wasn't sure when exactly, but sometime after Beca's incident and now, he became more and more hotheaded.

He chalked it up to all the frustrations he felt for being so helpless in trying to help Beca. For all the slow progress in trying to catch the guy responsible for this.

It was during this walk that Jesse spotted an old electronic shop, with those flat screen TV's reminiscent of the early 2000s on display by the window. The TVs were all tuned on different channels, one in particular was the local news showing an interview with the current district councilman talking about his accomplishments of the past year and his current efforts to support rehabilitation and physical medicine centers.

Jesse scoffed as he stopped in front of the window, his blood starting to boil again.

He'll never forget his face, he'll never forget his name.

He'll never forget the day he found Beca's crime board hidden underneath her bed that one afternoon he and Chloe decided to help Dr. Mitchell fix up Beca's room. It came as a bit of a surprise, and Jesse found himself in the tough position of explaining everything he knew of it. Chloe too.

But then Jesse found himself in the peculiar position of deciding whether or not to tell Dr. Mitchell about a name that he couldn't find any traces of.

Nothing.

Because Jesse indeed tried, immediately after Beca's incident.

But nothing came up from the search results.

So when Dr. Mitchell was confused about the question on the middle of the board –  _Who are you CTW? –_ Jesse came up with no concrete answer.

Only trusting Aubrey then, because she seemed to be the most level-headed in dealing with it.

It also helped that Aubrey's family was connected to a few influential people.

But nothing came of it then.

An there really wasn't much info on the board when they found it either.

There were a lot of push pins on the side, and a lot former marks on the board suggesting it was heavily used with many notes recently. Jesse could only guess that it could have been things regarding Chloe and possibly Aubrey at one point. But when they found it, the only tings listed were a bunch of old cases Beca thought was actually related with each other, all hurriedly scribbled on some piece of paper, a list called ' _Possible new victims?'_ with Denise's name on it, and the paper with the giant question mark asking who CTW.

Jesse hadn't paid much attention on it then, becoming suspicious of pretty much anyone who seemed shady at the moment. He suspected teachers, including their guidance councilor with his similar car to the one that Beca was found in, he suspected Luke, Tom, some of the guys from their school and from the nearby schools too.

He kept his eyes peeled for anything.

And he never stopped searching for CTW.

Until it all felt futile one day that he simply moved on and focused on helping his friends uncover old closed cases with a similar modus operandi, cases that former Det. Jones, and Mr. Smith had uncovered and had suspected were related to Beca's.

Something Jesse believed to be true when some of the files they salvaged match some of the cases on Beca's old cork board.

For a while, Jesse had forgotten.

Until one day Aubrey heard of the name again when the old Councilman Westin died and his son-in-law stepped-up and assumed his former position.

In an instant, the same initials were on the forefront of his mind.

And of course it wasn't hard for Jesse to know what those initials meant. It was a name Beca asked of him not so long ago.

A name that had no face or meaning to it until a few years later.

A name that Aubrey had discovered about two years ago, it sucked that it had to be someone who had no idea of who the man was and Aubrey was still cautious about handling that info in case they find trouble with local law enforcements if  _he_ ever finds out about their investigations. Hence all the secrecy.

Yes, a name Jesse put a face to two years ago during a quick Google search, after Aubrey got in touch with him about it. Because the moment he saw the picture on those posters with his current projects, he knew.

It all clicked.

And his suspicions about the car being the same make and model as he did… no, Jesse wasn't crazy.

Although Aubrey did have a point that he wasn't delicate either, wanting to dive in without actually thinking. If their hunch was correct and they act rashly, if everyone finds out and they act rashly, then this could spell trouble for Beca who may still be in danger form him after all these years. His position of power makes it undoubtedly easy for him to reach Beca without much trouble and get away with it.

And who was to say he was just waiting for an opportune moment? For them to make a mistake and make him aware the threat Beca still possessed.

Especially since she was the only one who could confirm it was  _him_ after all.

For now, they had to be careful, but that doesn't mean Jesse won't narrow his focus on digging information about him.

Besides, Aubrey had Lilly narrow his focus on him with her research now. Results should give them something, anything, Jesse was hopeful for it.

Jesse had a lot of questions about it. For one thing, how on earth did Beca have that name from even before the man had assumed it? How did Beca find herself so close to the truth with nothing but a hunch, a gut feeling?

How was it all enough to rattle his cages?

What exactly did she know that made her of great interest to him, other than knowing he existed, that he was on the loose to abduct and kill?

Because this entire search, all of it, would have been forgotten and ignored if he hadn't turned his attention on Beca. If he simply let things be.

But no. Was it his hubris? His intrigue on how Beca was onto him?

Was it that?

Despite the questions though, Jesse won't stop until he gets caught.

He won't stop until it's game over.

Jesse took his eyes off the screen from the electronic shop window and started walking back to their base.

_Charles Timothy Westin._

Jesse knew it was him.

It was him, no doubt about it.

It just had to be.

_Chicago Walp._

No one else.

The same man.

The same person who stayed close to his most prized prey.

The game wasn't over just yet.

No, the real game was just begun.

And Jesse swore that when the time comes, he would pay.

_You haven't escaped justice just yet._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to be brief (apparently that was impossible), but yay, right? Beca's still alive...
> 
> …just very much unconscious…
> 
> …you guys didn't really think I'd kill her, now, did you?
> 
> Also, I clarify, Beca doesn't really have much of a control on her Revivals. It happens on its own. The only time she ever kinda sorta triggers it is when she gets caught by the police back in chapter 12. Although in a way, it was more like the universe being all 'you need to learn this info first so you have to fail and go back to the present where you're a wanted criminal and then we can send you back when you learn from your mistakes'… good ol' universe just wasn't being straightforward to begin with…
> 
> But, because she essentially did save the OG victims and patsy Benji, she's done her job. Which means, no more Revivals…
> 
> Thanks for all the support so far. Now we know who the perp is, expect a suspenseful re-introduction of his character and a thrilling final confrontation ahead!
> 
> UPNEXT: A fragile heart, some wishful thinking, and once upon a song… aka Chloe's chapter (it might get highly emotional, so keep a box of Kleenex with you just in case ;P)


	19. Good Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been nine years since the incident. Chloe goes about her normal routine, balancing work and helping Dr. Mitchell in taking care of Beca who's been in a coma since then. While she hasn't given up all hope, Chloe wonders if the day will ever come for Beca to wake up again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Here's chapter 19 featuring Chloe and the song 'You are the Reason' by Calum Scott as well as the chorus of 'Lullaby' – I was mostly listening to Tori Kelly's full version of the song though. Almost used 'Titanium' but it's been used in a lot of fics already and, well, I was listening to Calum's song when I wrote this and it seemed more appropriate… 'Titanium' will get a mention, don't worry.

It was a long day of work, tiring too.

But Chloe still did her best to put a smile on her face as she made her way home.

She was always, patient, and kind to people she helped with her work as a physical therapist. But she figured it was something she needed to have lots of practice on because she was sure that Beca was going to be one stubborn patient when she wakes up.

**When** not  **if.**

Because Chloe strongly believed that Beca will wake up again, one day, someday.

Chloe had a promise to keep after all.

That they get to start again when she came back.

That they get a proper shot when the morning comes after the long night of their goodbye.

But see, Chloe never left.

Not after what had happened.

It was like a dream sequence. A nightmare, truth be told. One moment she was worrying about where Beca was, the next she watched as Dr. Mitchell tried to pull himself together. And in a flurry of events, she found herself fighting for the right to go with him to the hospital she was kept, not knowing what to expect. She found herself calling her grandmother to tell her that something had happened to Beca – who her grandmother had rather become fond of because of her efforts to help Chloe. She found herself standing next to Dr. Mitchell in shock and disbelief as the doctors first related what had happened, how Beca was found, and what they had to do to save her life.

To hear that someone had attempted to kill her was enough to shake Chloe to the core.

And to hear that Beca had then been entered a comatose state was another thing to process on its own.

Somehow Chloe managed. Somehow, she managed to convince herself to see the Brightside of things.

At least Beca was alive.

At least there was still a chance to save her life.

At least she could still wake up.

Finally seeing her then though that was what had her undone.

Because Chloe wasn't prepared to see Beca so lifeless before her.

She couldn't even step inside the room.

She had broken down right in front of the opened door as Dr. Mitchell all but rushed inside completely at a loss.

Even when their friends came in the next day, she couldn't. Her grandmother had come as soon she could, helping Chloe deal with how she felt then. That's when she met Aubrey too.

Aubrey who was completely at a loss.

Aubrey who couldn't do much but offer her ears to listen to Chloe's heartache. To offer her shoulders for her tears.

To offer her both her arms to console her.

Chloe thought the sun would finally shine.

She didn't realize that they had just entered the eye of the storm.

It was a slow progress to find a steady flow of things after that. The first few weeks of Beca in the hospital, they were hopeful. They clung onto the faith that whoever did this to her would be found soon and that she would wake up the next morning.

But mornings came, and the daylight simply grew shorter.

All while the dark of night lasted longer.

The investigations led nowhere. Dr. Mitchell, Jesse, and Chloe herself found Beca's crime board as they talked about what they knew. Jesse seemed hesitant to talk much, and over the years, he'd only really let slip something he thought was relevant. It was hard to process, it was hard to accept, it was hard to understand.

Beca saved their lives without even thinking about the risks she had been taking.

She acted selflessly.

And Chloe wished she didn't.

Chloe wished she understood.

Not much of the 'how's' but the 'why's'.

Because she wanted to know why Beca would sacrifice herself like that to stop just one person from  _possibly_ hurting others.

Because it left her in awe of Beca's own actions.

Because it made her yearn and ache for having her in her life the past nine years instead of having her in a seemingly endless state of sleep.

The weeks turned to months.

Before she knew it, the school year had ended. Aubrey's family was wealthy and offered Chloe and her grandmother a chance for Chloe to stay with them to finish her last year in high school by staying with them instead. Never mind the fact that the two attended different schools. Aubrey herself never really had much in terms of friends, they were just happy that she had found a best friend that last few months. Besides, they understood the situation with Beca.

Aubrey made them realize and understand, at the very least, that if it wasn't for her meddling, she could have been the one at the bottom of a lake somewhere.

Soon the months turned to years.

Chloe found herself at Barden with Aubrey, the two actively pursuing their degrees with as much vigor and passion they had, knowing how much was at stake.

They were soon joined by their friends, and they soon met new ones too.

Four years passed without much progress with Beca, just that she was at least stable. That Dr. Mitchell moved her to a homecare setting. That she was very much still in a comatose.

And that the person responsible for it all was still out there.

Chloe would sometimes find herself overwhelmed with both grief and rage at the thought of it. He would pay for sure, he would pay someday.

But her focus was Beca.

Because justice meant nothing when it's all but after the fact for Chloe.

Because justice won't bring back the life that Beca could have had the last nine years and counting.

The life that he had stolen from her.

Chloe found herself distracted away from her thoughts once she got home. She was currently sharing and apartment with Aubrey and Stacie, though really, she mostly spent her time at Dr. Mitchell's anyways.

All while Stacie spent long nights in the lab, Aubrey at the make-shift office.

They'd all either meet there at some point in the late afternoon or in the early hours of morning when they're all just tired and need a break.

For Chloe, the only time she left Beca's side was if she had to go to work, or if Dr. Mitchell was home to take care of her.

She'd visit even though he's there, but she still gives him some private time alone with her daughter.

This was hard on her already, she could only imagine how hard it could be for him too.

"You okay?" Stacie had asked as she followed her inside the apartment.

"I could ask you the same thing." Chloe replied.

"Oh, well, just long day in the lab. Experiments didn't work." Stacie admitted looking a bit frustrated about something. "And longer night ahead. I figured with Jesse finally here, things are bound to pick up and all, and I should help out more with what they're doing with the investigations."

Chloe nodded. "Don't burn yourself too much."

"Of course. Would you like to swing by?" Stacie then replied.

"No, maybe some other time." Chloe replied. She barely swings by their base.

She used to do so a lot when they were in high school.

And then in Barden.

But then her priority shifted to helping take care of Beca, a feat that wasn't exactly easy.

Besides, she didn't know what she would feel if she jumped headlong into the investigations.

Dr. Mitchell helped them out every now and then, whenever they needed his sage advice and Chloe could see just how much everything was taking a toll on him.

The uncertainty of will things ever come their way.

Sometimes a year feels like forever.

Nine was just the very definition of eternity.

Chloe grabbed a light dinner after squaring a few of her things off at their apartment. She took a shower, changed, relaxed a bit, and then left, waving Stacie bye as her the brunette busied herself with working up some data on her laptop.

Their apartment was only about two blocks away from Dr. Mitchell's place. The short distance would barely mattered to anyone who would walk tha way but it does to Chloe.

It was a few minutes where she would find herself thinking, wishing, and hoping.

It was the few minutes she had to think and imagine what they would be doing now if things had been different.

She had the spare key to the apartment so Chloe let herself in when she got there. Dr. Mitchell had already left, leaving her a note on the dining table. It was definitely one of those nights again.

A long night of discussion, arguments, frustrations, and research at the base.

And a long night for Chloe with Beca, alone with the silence that surrounded them.

"Hey Beca, how's your day? I'm guessing nothing much eventful, but would you like to hear mine?" Chloe asked as she stepped into Beca's room.

It will always be jarring for her too see and think and know just how wrong it was too see the monitors connected to her, the gas cylinder next to her bed while she still wore and oxygen mask, the white sheets, the sterile environment.

She would close her eyes and think of how her room looked like before, way back in high school, with her laptop propped open and her mixing program ready.

Now the room looked empty, sans the medical equipment.

Chloe walked over her old radio set and turned it on. It was their thing now.

Because the silence was just too much.

At least with music it was like Beca was there, more than just in a deep slumber next to her, but actually  _with_ her.

With her quips, her smirk, her innate Beca-ness.

Chloe grabbed a little box-like thing under the bed before turning her attention to Beca.

She couldn't quite remember what finally got her to enter Beca's room back then in the hospital, but she did. It was the last day Beca was staying there, Dr. Mitchell having decided to move Beca to a facility better equipped to handle her case.

Beca looked pale, but otherwise, she looked like she truly was just asleep. She could breathe better by then, so they removed the tube with an oxygen mask. The thermal bag that surrounded her was gone too, what was left was the hospital standard sheets.

Chloe couldn't help but cry then, taking Beca's hand in her own. It felt so surreal to know that she couldn't exactly reach her then despite holding her hands.

"I promise I'll be here when you wake up." Chloe had then whispered.

And it was a promise she intended to keep.

It was still hard to enter Beca's room, but Chloe found a way to motivate herself.

Besides, taking care of a coma patient required a lot of work.

Every day, for four hours, she had to work on Beca, stretch and bend her muscles for her, apply electrical muscle stimulation to prevent muscle atrophy.

Beca's grown thinner than she used to, thankfully she's not all skin and bones with all the efforts Chloe and Dr. Mitchell put in.

It was still hard to see though.

Every day, it felt more and more hopeless as Chloe worked on her, because every day, things just seem to get worse and worse.

And she always had to fight that feeling.

Chloe found herself singing a bit to take her mind of things. Somehow it helped her manage.

At least she would hope Beca would hear her and wake up already.

She'd talk to Beca too, once in a while.

Just in case she can hear her.

So that she knows how much she cared about her.

So that she knew she had all the reason in the world to wake up.

Just in case she forgot.

Just in case Beca thinks they've moved on.

Because, no, Chloe couldn't move on.

Not after all they've gone through.

Not after almost having it all.

_All the time I have laid in your love_   
_When your love kept me safe through the night_   
_All the time I was sure you were mine_   
_And before time demands our goodbye_ _  
_ _Can you sing me a last lullaby?_

Because that's the thing. Chloe's always had a soft spot for Beca. She was this adorable little kid who lived a few block away with stormy blue eyes and who would always pout and stomp when she didn't get her way.

She was always cheerful at the playground when Chloe would catch a glimpse of her, but that was when her mother was alive.

And when she had passed, Chloe missed the sparkle of mischief in her eyes, the playful smirk she's mastered since she was a kid. So Chloe tried to reach out.

She would, over and over again. She thought Beca simply didn't care. Apparently that wasn't the case at all.

She hated that she had to find that out from Jesse, and Stacie, and Cynthia Rose, and Flo.

The way Beca would steal glances when Chloe wasn't looking. The melancholic look she had when she saw her with Tom in high school.

That she did care about Chloe, she just didn't think she was worthy standing next to her light.

She wanted to be her friend but she was too shy, and overwhelmed by her feeling she thought would never be reciprocated.

And in a way, Chloe was too.

That's why she gave Tom a shot.

But Chloe always had the butterflies when Beca was around.

The two of them just felt invisible to the other even though that wasn't the case.

And when she realized that, she ended things with Tom.

If anything, Chloe was glad that Tom was Tom.

Even until now, the guy finally caught a break with hockey and is slowly become a popular athlete. Chloe's forever thankful that he actually helps them out on the finances, helping raise funds for Beca's needs whenever he could.

It just sucked, big time, that when Chloe finally had that chance, that shot, and things were coming together after their imperfect circumstances, after the storm they had to weather out, disaster had to strike.

And now she missed the butterflies.

She missed the warmth.

She missed Beca's light smiles, her sweetness, her thoughtfulness, and her bravery.

She missed the quiet moments they had in the bus, at the library, in her room.

She missed the scenery they shared at their so-called Christmas tree.

And she missed the moments and chances they could have had but never did.

Chloe fixed herself something simple to eat early the next morning after falling asleep on the couch. She did a bit of reading the night before and promised to just close her eyes for a few minutes, only to find herself in a perfectly sweet dream.

Because she could only be with Beca in her dreams and memory since the indent.

She checked on Beca that morning, sipping on a cup of coffee before turning her attention back to her forgotten reading, turning up the volume from the radio in her room as Chloe grabbed her laptop from the living room so that she could keep watch of Beca while working.

But the thing with sitting in Beca's room is it always reminded Chloe of what was missing.

Beca herself.

Awake.

Conscious.

Well.

So Chloe ended up moving about, tidying things, picking up on the song on the radio once more as she hums a song after another.

Until she forgets for a moment about the circumstance they were in and starts to sing softly to herself.

_There goes my heart beating_  
_'Cause you are the reason_  
 _I'm losing my sleep_  
 _Please come back now_

_There goes my mind racing_  
_And you are the reason_  
 _That I'm still breathing_  
 _I'm hopeless now_

In a way, singing didn't only take her mind off of things.

In a way it kept the memories alive.

It made Beca feel alive.

From listening to her mixes while studying, to her excitement when she showed how she worked to Chloe.

And it would make it easier to talk with all her one-way conversations with her over the past few years.

Talking about new songs, some that Beca would like, possible mix ideas.

And Chloe would find herself talking fondly of the idea that the world was totally missing out on her amazing talent.

That she should wake up soon and not deny them of her awesomeness any longer.

And on some days it was enough to keep the hope alive.

_There goes my hands shaking_  
_And you are the reason_  
 _My heart keeps bleeding_  
 _I need you now_

_If I could turn back the clock_   
_I'd make sure the light defeated the dark_   
_I'd spend every hour, of every day_   
_Keeping you safe_

Because thinking of the alternative was much worst.

Thinking about what Beca didn't get to do was too much.

She didn't get to graduate high school with her friends.

She missed on a prom where they could have totally gone out together.

Her thoughts on maybe actually going to college and spending time with Chloe at Barden.

The lost summers and springs that Beca didn't get to see.

The falls and winters that escaped her in her sleep.

So no, Chloe didn't want to think it.

She distracted herself to the best of her abilities because she didn't want to confront that ghost.

A ghost of 'what might have been's' and 'what if's'.

_I don't want to cry no more, come back, I need you to hold me_

Because those where the thoughts that made her weak.

The thoughts that kept breaking her heart.

Nine years.

Nine long years of never knowing what could come next.

Chloe just didn't want to think that all that Beca had done to save her, help them, would end in such a tragedy.

_A little closer now, just a little closer now  
Come a little closer, I need you to hold me tonight_

And every time those feelings well up in Chloe's chest, she would close her eyes and steel herself.

Those nine years weren't stagnant.

They were all working hard.

To catch the man responsible for this.

To help bring Beca back home.

Return to her friends.

Reunite with her father.

Come back to  _her_.

Because all Chloe wanted wasn't freedom anymore.

Yes, she still chased the sun. She still chased for the clear skies of day.

_I'd climb every mountain_  
_And swim every ocean_  
 _Just to be with you_  
 _And fix what I've broken_

She still dreamed of the morning and its implications…

The chance to begin again.

The start of a  _'them'_ , of an  _'us'_.

For story that's more than just passing glances and lingering looks.

_'Cause I need you to see_

And really, that tomorrow was all that Chloe was holding onto.

Whether or not it would come.

She wanted to believe it would.

_That you are the reason_

Chloe's phone kept buzzing just as the song finished, taking her out of her reverie.

She walked over to where she had left it next on Beca's bedside table, checking her messages. Apparently her friends wanted her there because they have something important to discuss.

Chloe set her phone down, about to turn around to start gathering her things when something caught her eye.

She did a double take, turning back to face Beca's bed.

Chloe dropped her phone as she rushed towards the bedside, dropping onto her knees.

The tears started to stream down her cheeks on their own as she bit her lips to stop a sob from escaping, brushing a few loose strands off of her face as she found herself smiling.

Beca's eyes fluttered about, adjusting her vision to the bright lights before turning to look at Chloe, the stormy blue eyes she thought she'd never see again staring back at her in that morning.

"Good morning, Beca." she said all choked up.

But could anyone really blame her?

She's been waiting to say that for the last nine years, two months, three weeks, and two days.

But who's counting?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I have a few work stuff to do over the weekend so I might not be able to upload anything. I'll try to get 20 up by tomorrow though. My next update might take until Tuesday or Wednesday, so hang tight.
> 
> Meanwhile, Beca wakes up to more friends than she can remember and an unofficial girlfriend, isn't she lucky? Granted, she nearly died, but hey, all's well that ends well?
> 
> PS: in the OG series, Satoru (Beca's char) wakes up after his mom (I switched the parental character with Chloe for reasons you shall know next chapter end of notes :P) starts listening to the theme song of this super sentai show/superhero character (think along the lines of Power Rangers) he loves… that doesn't exactly work for Beca, hence the song… I might have cherry picked the lyrics a little towards the end to just incorporate the lines that would fit the situation :P There's also a duet version of the song with Calum Scott and Leona Lewis, check it out, it's pretty good!
> 
> UPNEXT: The start of Beca's recovery. A lot of heartwarming talks. And a plot device I've used three times (twice with Beca) but I can't do much about it because it's what happened in the OG series and it's actually essential to happen… for people who've read my past works, you know what I mean (coma + nine years could only equal one thing)…


	20. Waking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca wakes up after nine years of deep slumber but without any memory of her heroic deeds, her friendship with Chloe, and ever meeting Aubrey. With her locked memories as the key to catching the killer, the race is on to figure out a way to make Beca remember before her life is put in danger once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Here’s the next chapter featuring complications, decisions, and Bechloe <3
> 
> Sorry for the delay but it’s the men’s free skate program for the Olympics last night and I’m a figure skating fan. So…

“You truly are incredibly lucky Ms. Mitchell.” the doctor concluded after recounting what had happened to her, what she had survived. She still really couldn’t move much as she stayed laying on the hospital bed. They had to lift up her bed to an angle for her to even sit up.

Her body was aching in a way that she never thought possible, but she supposed the doctors were right, that’s the price of being in a coma for nine years. Beca supposed that she should be thankfully she didn’t completely deteriorate, although she was still incredibly confused as to why Chloe Beale of all people would work so hard for her. She her father’s reasoning, but Chloe?

Why would she stay by her side for nine long years?

Beca would be lying if she said she wasn’t touched and overwhelmed by it, add that to the fact she woke up to an emotional Chloe rushing to her side.

_But what on earth is going on?_

_What on earth happened?_

“Would you like to see yourself in the mirror?” the doctor asked and Beca nodded gently. Her father was seated on the chair next to her seat, Chloe standing near the door, constantly shifting her weight as she listened to the doctor, as she waited for him to finish the examination.

As soon as Beca woke up, Chloe called Dr. Mitchell and messaged a few other people. Before she knew it, she was in a hospital, pretty much just dazed and confused as to what was happening. She found that it hard to speak or say much of anything then, her voice was still hoarse now, but she supposed she was feeling better in a way.

She struggled as she reached for the mirror the doctor was handing to her. In her reflection she could see how thin she’d gotten but not much really changed. At least Beca wasn’t too surprised by anything that the doctor was the one who thought it to be curious.

“It could be shocking sometimes for patients to see themselves on the mirror. I’m glad you seem to be taking it well.” the doctor then said as Beca handed the mirror back to him. “I know you must still be tired, Ms. Mitchell, but would you please humor me one more test?” he asked and Beca nodded in response.

“Really, doctor, couldn’t this wait for tomorrow?” her father asked.

“It would be a quick test.” the doctor then clarified. “Beca, would you mind telling me, what’s the last thing you remember?”

Beca looked at the doctor with a bit of a surprised expression. She was stumped.

She wasn’t sure.

She focused on her memories as she tried to think back on what it could have been, but it was all a jumbled mess in her head. It was like few or so film reels had mixed up in her head, gotten tangled and cut in ways she couldn’t exactly understand.

And every time she focused on a particular scene, it was like something was blocking her.

Some kind of blur obscured the images in her head, like damaged images that negatives give for films exposed to light.

But they were there.

Some setting in a bus.

A snowy field or clearing with a person she simply assumed to be Chloe – it would make a bit of sense on why she was there if it was her, it meant that Beca somehow forgot times she spent with her – based on the glimpse of a redcoat she could make out of the flashing memory.

Blood, and image of blood everywhere.

And fire that made Beca feel slightly panicked but she tried her best to not let it show.

A truck coming at her.

Opening a door to some garden shed.

And someone… a person, Beca couldn’t quite make out who, in a car with her…

Beca closed her eyes to think. She wanted to search for the last piece of memory she had that she could clearly see in her mind’s eye.

But the one last thing she could remember that was real was an argument with her dad one morning as she marched off to school in a terrible mood. It was mostly regarding Beca’s lack of scholastic interest.

“We were fighting.” she said, her voice most definitely still hoarse. She turned a little to face her dad, trying to search for some clues if that indeed was her most recent memory. “You were very upset about my recent test scores, threatened supporting me for the move to the city before college and I just marched off.”

As she finished speaking, Beca’s eyes searched for answers from her father who looked disappointed and from Chloe who looked brokenhearted.

“That was a good month or so before….” Dr. Mitchell started to say sounding disheartened.

But the doctor was quick to reassure them though. “As I feared, you may have lost some of your most recent memories before the incident. Most times it’s temporary. The fact that she could remember things that happened a good month before is promising. We were worried you’d have lost decades of your life memories. For now, don’t worry much about it and let’s focus on your recovery, alright Ms. Mitchell?” the doctor went on before turning her attention back to Beca who simply nodded as she processed the information that was given to her.

The doctor soon excused himself, asking if he could speak with Dr. Mitchell I private, and effectively leaving her alone with Chloe.

Chloe wasn’t entirely sure what to do at the moment, so Beca watched as she busied herself, typing away on something called a ‘smart phone’ – Beca thought she’d be more amazed when she first saw Chloe and her father suing it, but a part of her felt like she saw those exact models before.

“Thank you.” Beca urged herself to say as she watched Chloe move around the room, trying not to face Beca much. She looked a bit sad as she made her way to Beca, taking the seat Dr. Mitchell had earlier.

She simply shook her head. “Do you want me to…” Chloe asked, pointing at the bed and Beca nodded before she raised her bed up at an angle a bit. “And you don’t really have to thank me.” Chloe said, her eyes looking at everything else other than Beca.

Beca felt upset by it. Not that Chloe wouldn’t look at her, but the fact that she knew that the reason she was like this was because of her.

Because of what she couldn’t remember.

_Something happened in that month or so I lost… what was it?_

Beca was about to say something again when they heard a knock on the door.

And thus started her barrage of visitors.

Flo came first and in scrubs. She looked tired but incredibly happy to see Beca awake. Apparently she was studying medicine at the nearby university and they had a program with the hospital to do rotations. That and it was all because of her, because she inspired Flo to do something to help people who were in the same situations she was then. She was thanking Beca for everything she’s done and that she was glad she was awake. It would seem that Chloe sent a head’s up to her friends – their friends? – that she lost quite a bit of her memories and so Flo was careful with broaching the topic of her little incident.

She didn’t really know much of it. What was given to her as an explanation was that she nearly drowned, was saved, the whole medical schpill of how she was still alive – which Beca only understood about half of – but never really explaining the how of it.

How it happened in the first place, why she nearly drowned?

It proved to be a delicate subject with her second set of visitors. Flo was still in her room when Cynthia Rose and Denise walked inside to check on her, both genuinely relieved to see she was awake. Cynthia Rose looked sleepless, Denise was in different colored scrubs. Turns out Cynthia Rose was a police detective and she was working on a few cases, something that highly impressed Beca. Denise, on the other hand, had become a nurse. All inspired by her as well.

She was incredibly confused as to how Denise and Cynthia Rose got together, and while she was given a story, a few details were obviously left out. Or at least, Beca could tell they did their best to leave them out.

Flo had to leave soon, and both Cynthia Rose and Denise excused themselves as well, with Denise both thanking Beca and apologizing “for everything” – whatever that meant. Chloe decided to join them outside, excusing herself, before Stacie came in with a blonde who looked oddly familiar.

Stacie introduced her as Aubrey, and that apparently they were friends for a brief while – “about a week to be exact” or so Aubrey interjected – before what happened to her happened.

And again, the whole topic was swept under the rug before Beca could even ask anything about it by Stacie who started to talk about Tom, of all people.

Beca wasn’t really interested, but apparently Tom was “thankful for all the help she’s given Chloe” – which seriously, what was it? _What kind of life-changing thing did I do?_ – and so he helped them out with a few things in terms of Beca’s medical costs.

Then there was Benji. He was still the shy guy they knew, interested in magic and performing tricks and all. He was affected by what happened to Beca in a different way than the rest who seemed to have found themselves pursuing careers in which they could help her. Instead, Benji realized that life was too short. He went travelling around the world during the summers between his college years.

He still had his magic trick quirks. He still sometimes preferred to be alone. But he would check in with the group every now and then.

For some reason, Beca felt so relieved in knowing that Benji had a life filled with such freedom the past nine years.

“So I’m guessing Tom will also come and visit?” Beca asked, sounding incredibly displeased at the thought.

“Why would he?” Stacie then threw back, confused.

“Genius, she has amnesia.” Aubrey said with a chuckle and shook her head. “I believe Mitchell is implying that Chloe’s _ex-_ boyfriend is still with Chloe.”

Stacie laughed after that. “Right! Oh God, Beca… still pining I see? Glad to see you didn’t forget your feelings.” she teased making Beca blush a little.

Yep, her not-so-little crush on Chloe was most definitely still there.

And Beca had to admit, she was a little annoyed at herself for giving Stacie an opening to bury the lead on the subject they kept sidestepping even more.

It was clear her friends were all worried about her, about letting anything slip regarding what happened to her, making her want to know more of it.

But without them saying anything, Beca only had to depend on her blocked memory.

And she knew, a part of her kept screaming loudly that she urgently needed to get to the bottom of it.

 

* * *

 

“But Chloe!” Jesse argued as the two of them tried to keep their voices down at the waiting area of Beca’s floor. He kept urging Chloe to take the binder in his hand but Chloe was adamant on her decision.

Dr. Mitchell seemed to be on her side too as he placed a hand on Jesse’s shoulder. “We need to be alert on things.” he started to say in a low voice. “But we can’t force Beca to remember.”

“This is the only way we can prove if our hunch was right…” Jesse then absent-mindedly say.

“What hunch?” Chloe then asked but he shook his head.

“Nothing, not the time and place to talk about it but it’s why we wanted you at the office.” was all he gave as a reply before seeing Stacie and Aubrey exit Beca’s room.

“Your turn Swanson.” Stacie said as they rejoined them outside.

Jesse nodded, gripping the binder tightly in his hands before making a move to see Beca.

In a rush of panic, Chloe seized his hand and asked for the binder. “Don’t tell her anything yet, Jess. I know she needs to know, she needs to find out, but… I… I don’t want to overwhelm her.”

“I know. Dr. Mitchell said the same thing already.” Jesse conceded, handing her the binder. “But if that thing helps, please, Chloe consider giving it to Beca.”

Chloe couldn’t really find the words to give a reply. She just watched Jesse enter Beca’s room.

And Chloe would be lying if she said that the entire time he was there, she wasn’t nervous.

Because as much as she would like for Beca to remember who it was that did this to her, make her pay, Chloe just got her back.

She didn’t want to scare her, overwhelm her, and make her remember things that would cause great distress on her.

Dr. Mitchell felt the same way, at least for now. He would like to know the answers to their questions too, but he didn’t want to just throw it all at Beca’s direction. He wanted to slowly ease her in.

Something that would prove difficult if Jesse’s all gung ho about things.

Jesse finally left after Beca ended up dismissing him, she was starting to feel tired from all the visits. That’s how Chloe found her sleeping when she returned to her room.

It felt strange. Watching Beca sleep for the past years, it most definitely made the moment at hand feel different for Chloe. A part of her was still worried she wouldn’t wake up again, that that was it, but then Beca would move a little, shift her weight to get more comfortable, and Chloe’s all reassured. She never did that when she was in a coma.

So she knew Beca was just dreaming, drifting off to sleep because she was just tired.

Chloe went over the contents of the binder Jesse left with her, while watching over Beca. She took that day off, with Dr. Mitchell handling other surprising but pressing issues, including an increase in hospital security and dealing the press all gathered outside, apparently the news of a girl who just woke up from a nine-year long coma was on the top of their list of things to report.

Besides, Chloe didn’t really feel like she could focus on anything past the fact that Beca was awake. She was conscious. She woke up.

And though the battle ahead for her recovery wasn’t easy, though they weren’t sure of the memory she lost would ever return, Chloe was sure she wouldn’t run away and leave now.

She just needs to brace herself for the long road ahead.

She busied herself by flipping through the binder whose contents she already knew about. They all started it together after Beca was moved back to their house for homecare. It was something that busied their minds, and helped them focus on a positive outlook that Beca would wake up someday.

Jesse took charge of compiling the details about her incident, Aubrey helping provide legal matters. They put together news clipping form their town and wrote details down, as if they were telling her a story.

Flo and Stacie handled the science part, in case Beca wanted to understand it better because the doctors would get all technical –something they actually predicted to be true. Denise and Cynthia Rose wrote anecdotes of their daily lives, keeping Beca posted about the most recent school trip or particularly difficult exam.

And Chloe would be Chloe. She’d write letters to Beca, random lines of a song she thought she would like. She would talk about how she missed her, how she missed the time they spent studying together or just hanging out.

Chloe left the binder to one side of the room, with some of Beca’s things just in time to see a stressed Dr. Mitchell return, walking straight to make sure the windows and the blinds to Beca’s hospital room were shut closed. ‘”If you’re hungry, stick to the cafeteria food. It’s not the best, but it’s better than heading outside.”

“Thanks.” Chloe replied just before heading to the door. She stopped on her way out as she noticed Dr. Mitchell smiling weakly at her, an understanding look on his face.

“It’s such a simple word to say but I really do think I should be the one telling you that ten times over, until it means the world.” Dr. Mitchell replied. Chloe was to make an argument but Dr. Mitchell stopped her and simply shook her head. “Chloe, I know what love is. And what you’ve done all these years… that goes beyond it. I’m lucky Beca’s found someone like you. And I know I can’t really say we’ve got Beca back because we still have a lot to go through ahead of us, but I know… just like I know she doesn’t hate me anymore despite our argument being the last thing she remembers, that whatever it was that started to blossom and grow between the two of you before the accident, that didn’t disappear.”

Chloe nodded and smiled. She wiped away the tears from her eyes as her feelings quickly began to overwhelm her. She didn’t know she really needed to hear what Dr. Mitchell had just said until she heard it.

It had been a difficult road to get to where they were.

And despite her fears and worries of what could come next, she knew they can’t just run away from it.

Just because Beca woke up, it didn’t mean the nightmare of losing her over the years were going to stop haunting her. But she knew she couldn’t keep Beca protected for long either.

Chloe ran into Dr. Mitchell on her way back, apparently Beca’s doctors wanted to talk about her current treatment plan. They were all very eager to help Beca succeed and recover. She thought she would have the silence of the room to herself again, with Beca still tired and asleep, but to her surprise, Beca had been awake just staring at her ceiling, deep at thought.

She turned to smile at Chloe as she stepped inside and Chloe immediately got her bed up at an angle so they could talk more properly, that is, if Beca wanted to talk.

“So apparently a lot of people care about me?” Beca asked, her question bearing a kind of innocence of a child in awe that Chloe couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Yeah, well, you were there hero. You are to me too, you know?” she replied.

“Is that why… I mean… after all these years…” Beca started to say, mostly to herself. “Sorry, it must be frustrating, especially for you dealing with me right now. I don’t… I mean I’m frustrated myself.”

Chloe shook her head and instinctively reached out to touch Beca’s hand, giving it a firm squeeze. “Don’t be hard on yourself. If you forget completely, we’ll remember it for you.” Chloe then replied.

Beca nodded and looked thoughtful for a while as she simply stared at Chloe’s hand holding her own. Chloe realized that to Beca, they barely even spoke, so Chloe holding her hand probably felt new to Beca.

She took her hand away upon realizing this and Beca almost looked disappointed, if Chloe was only sure it wasn’t wishful thinking.

“I lied earlier.” Beca commented. “Maybe not exactly, but…”

“What do you mean?” Chloe asked confused to what Beca meant.

“It’s like… I don’t know how to describe it… Like all my memories, the ones I forgot, are locked behind some big and heavy door that I can’t open. Like it’s all within my reach but it just isn’t because there’s this obstacle. I can see flashes of it in my head but they’re all blurry and they don’t make sense. Am I even describing it right?”

Chloe looked at her at a loss as she tried to process things. Beca took a deep breath after a minute or two of silence before going on. ‘It’s like I don’t even know which, if any, of them are just actually dreams and which is real? ”

“I’m real.” Chloe then found herself saying, holding Beca’s once again, this time holding it gently. Beca gave a slight smile back in response.

“I know. Honestly, I’m still trying to understand why you’re here. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, I’m actually happy, I just… Jesse, Flo, Stacie, CR, they were my only friends. It still amazes me they haven’t just moved on. And we…”

“We talked Beca.” Chloe then replied. “And you walked me to school and back home while holding my hands to make sure I’m safe. You kept me safe, you hid me and protected me, you heard me when I was drowning in my silent screams, and saved me, Beca.”

Beca simply nodded as she processed what Chloe was saying but it was clear that nothing was clicking in her head.

“But that’s not why I waited.” Chloe then said Beca could say anything else. “You saved me Beca, from another day that I probably couldn’t take anymore, but that’s not why I waited. And there are probably a million reasons other than the most important one…” she said briefly looking away. Earlier that day, she was scolding Jesse for wanting to tell Beca everything already and she didn’t want to overwhelm her, and yet, here she was, about to just blurt out that she’s loved her from the start.

Possibly since she caught a glimpse of her at the playground since they were younger.

Way before Chloe realized just how drawn to her she was, or the fluttery feeling she left when they would pass each other by in the hallways.

Chloe waited because it was what made sense for her.

Because moving on just wasn’t an option.

And she would wait even longer if it meant she could keep Beca safe from now on.

If it meant she wouldn’t get hurt anymore.

Chloe sighed.

Jesse was right in his own ways.

Beca deserved to know, especially when she’s trying to make sense of everything, of the mess of things that’s in her head, of tangled memories she couldn’t quite grasp.

So she gets up, all as Beca watches her expectantly, and gets the binder she set aside from earlier.

“Here, you should take a look of what’s in it.” Chloe said as Beca accepted the binder from Chloe. “I’ll be right outside, maybe take a walk around the floor. I’m guessing you’d want to go over that alone.”

“What’s…?” Beca asked as she flipped through the pages and saw the clippings regarding her attempted murder. She closed the binder and simply nodded before turning to Chloe and reaffirming her decision to be alone for minute or two.

Chloe took a deep breath and stepped outside. As soon as she closed the door behind her she leaned on the hospital wall and took a deep breath to calm herself.

She was hoping she did the right thing, after all.

Because no matter how hard she tried to keep Beca safe in blissful ignorance, she knew, the past would eventually catch up.

And before she could tell her anything, she’d want to help Beca clear her head up a little.

  

* * *

 

Beca took her time in going over the binder Chloe gave her, reading her friends’ notes, explanations, and the clippings they all complied.

But nothing.

Nothing was jogging her memory.

If anything, she was touched even more so than anything at seeing all her friends visit her earlier. They cared. They all cared for her.

She was a little teary-eyed when Chloe stepped back inside. She looked like she was about to ask her a question regarding the binder so Beca decided to beat her to the punch, shaking her head.

“Thank you.” she then said as Chloe made her way back to her side. She handed the binder back and Chloe silently set it aside.

“So nothing, huh?” Chloe then asked and Beca shook her head again, patting the side of her bed.

Chloe approached the seat she had been occupying when Beca shook her head again and patter the spot next to her on her bed and Chloe obliged.

“It did help.” Beca then said. “It helped explain who the blonde in a power-suit was.”

Chloe laughed at the comment and Beca smiled, she looked lighter, happier, than she did earlier. “It also help explain why people won’t bring up anything about what happened to me.” she then said and Chloe nodded solemnly.

“Yeah, that… that was too much to handle, if I can be honest.” Chloe then said.

“Right.” Beca replied. “I’m sorry I can’t be much of a help on that front for now.”

“Don’t think about it Beca. Everyone’s working hard to get the guy responsible for this. For now, just focus on you. Focus on your recovery. Remember, we’re here for you. You’re not alone.” Chloe then said, grabbing Beca’s hand once again and Beca smiled.

“I suppose.” she replied. “I have to admit, I wasn’t sure what was happening when I woke up, I wasn’t really processing much just that everything felt so new, and the sun was so bright outside, and it’s weird. I woke up not expecting my life to have become so upturned by everything. Nothing makes sense in my murky mind.” Beca then went on to say and Chloe nodded along.

But one look at her and Beca could tell she was putting on a brave face.

She was keeping so much hurt so much pain deep inside of her.

It felt familiar somehow.

But this time, Beca knew she could do something with ease to cheer her up.

Chloe, she always seemed to be a faraway dream Beca could never reach, and while she wasn’t sure what had happened exactly, what brought them together – because that part was most definitely left out of the binder – she knew she was happy about it.

She didn’t feel so scared anymore, at least, in letting her feelings known.

Feelings she didn’t realize had grown much stronger.

“But despite everything, I do know one thing that’s clear…” Beca then found herself saying as she looked at Chloe in awe. Because deep down inside, for some stupid reason, she felt some find of relief to see Chloe with her in her room then. An overwhelming sense of joy, and relief, and gratefulness for whatever reason that Chloe existed in her space, right then and there.

That she was _there_. Period.

That she was alive and breathing.

And the same feeling was yelling at her loudly to stop wasting time, because Beca did truly feel like she’s wasted a whole lot of it already.

Chloe looked back at her with searching eyes. A mix of emotions clear and transparent, saying a thousand and one things that Beca was still trying to figure out and decipher.

But one thing truly was clear.

She loved Chloe.

And she could feel that Chloe felt the same way too.

Sooner than she even realized Beca was struggling to lean forward, closer to Chloe. Her body still ached, like her bones were very much angry at her for not moving them for nine years, and she hated how frail her body felt then.

But Chloe slowly leaned closer too and Beca could feel the anticipation build, stopping only when her lips were inches away from hers. She leaned her forehead against Chloe’s her heart beating faster than she anticipated as she chuckled. “I might be bad at this.” Beca then said as the thought popped into her head and Chloe laughed a little.

“Beca, that’s the least of my concerns. I’ve waited what feels like my entire life for this, for morning to come, for us to begin.”

Beca chuckled nervously. For some reason she could envision Chloe reciting Shakespearean lines at the doorstep of their old house.

But she shrugged it off then as she leaned closer to close the remaining distance, Chloe ready to catch her in her arms to support her weight.

In a way, what Chloe said was true.

It felt like she’s waited for over a lifetime or two for a moment like this between the two of them to exist.

For the two of them to begin.

So she wasn’t going to waste another second of it. It wasn’t the perfect situation, but it never truly was, that’s why Beca decided to just cling onto what was real.

And Chloe was what felt real.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, as I have said, I might not be able to upload much over the next few days. So I figured this might be a nice stopping point.
> 
> Feel free to PM me though on any thoughts and questions you may have.
> 
> UPNEXT: A new-old friend! A new-new friend! A cute moment! A scary moment! And, you’ve heard of the intense potato chip scene with Death Note, now prepare yourselves for the most intense apple scene ever (you’ll realize what this is about when we get there… sorry about the weird description… I’m tired)!


	21. Begin Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe finds happiness in Beca's 'miraculous' speed in recovery. Beca questions her sanity as she remembers things she shouldn't. A familiar face or two pops by and visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for tuning in so far. Here's chapter 21 with Beca navigating through her thoughts, an intense apple scene, and the return of AMY!
> 
> I'm alive guys, just buried underneath a never ending pile of work… but we're back to my usual update schedule of everyday/every other day next week (yey!) so stay tuned in for the grand finale ;)

"Come on Beca, just a bit more." Chloe cheered as Beca took one painful step after another in trying to get from one end of the parallel bars.

Beca gave her a grumbled response as she stopped in the center of the parallel bars. She took a deep breath as she steeled herself to continue, her arms shaking slightly as she supported her weight the best she could. They still had a long way to go although Chloe had to admit, Beca was making great progress. Her doctors even called it a miracle that she was making such a speedy recovery.

It's been two weeks since Beca had first woken up. She was still very much in the hospital as her medical team decided that keeping her under observation for now was for the best. She still couldn't exactly stand and very much relied on crutches whenever she tried walking – which is why Chloe insisted that she use the wheelchair, but Beca was just too plain stubborn sometimes – around the hospital.

Then of course there was the ongoing surges of crazy press tactics as pretty much every news outlet in the country wanted to do a feature on the girl who woke up from a nine year coma. The media circus was pretty much being handled by her friends, led by Dr. Mitchell, and the hospital staff were very keen on cooperating too. So at least there was that.

As for Beca's case, well, as much as Chloe wanted to see justice get served, her main focus was Beca for the moment. It was all she could do to keep the fear at bay.

That unsettling fear that something might happen again. That something might take Beca away again.

Or that someone was coming back for her after all these years.

The hospital security with the press helped eased her worries, although Chloe would be lying if she said that she slept fully peacefully at night either. She was pretty much the one who stayed with Beca in her room at night. Some nights Dr. Mitchell would hang around the waiting area and let the late hours of the evening transform into the early hours of morning pass him by grading papers, nodding to sleep on those uncomfortable hospital chairs, and sometimes just keeping watch.

Chloe, on the other hand, was allowed to stay with Beca in her room. Beca didn't seem to protest much about this arrangement, she was just eager in trying to re-get to know Chloe and catch up with everything that they've missed the past couple of years.

They kissed, they still kiss, and hold hands too, but they were taking a slow approach to things. To Chloe, it was enough to know that she meant something to Beca, something special. She was more than happy just to know that she felt the same way for her.

They weren't going to rush. They were just  _them_.

An  _us._

And Chloe was just thankful for the chance.

A chance to enjoy each other's company and just be.

Their friends seemed to get the picture during their visits though, but they decided to keep quiet about it. For now, their main focus was also to keep Beca safe and help her recover.

After the first few days of being in the hospital, Chloe knew she had to get back to her job – and really she was thankful she gets to be Beca's PT – which meant that everyone had to step up on the 'Beca-watch'.

Jesse had a schedule all set-up to make sure no one gives them the slip and get to Beca. For the most part, they all had their own visiting hours with her, keeping her company. The only time they really couldn't cover was that hour after Beca's PT session where she mostly just naps because she's too tired. She's kept alone during that hour but Lilly came up with a plan to stealthily plant a few cameras around the hallway leading to Beca's room to make sure she was safe. They were supposed to add one in her room too, but then Stacie supposedly made an argument – Chloe wasn't sure what, she wasn't in the room when the plan was drawn up – on why they shouldn't.

As for Beca, Chloe's just happy that despite the nine years they lost, she still seemed to be the same Beca she knew, somehow. She sported the same smirk when she won a card game, she was as stubborn as ever, her appetite was back to normal after a few days, although she hated the hospital food. To that end, they've been trying to convince the doctors to let them bring outside food, but her nutritionist was a bit too invested in knowing what she was going to eat and was very strict about things. Flo would sneak her in some snacks whenever she could though.

And of course Beca was working hard on rehab, even on days like this when she was just mostly frustrated at the pace they were going, when she's just too upset with herself that her body still wasn't exactly back to the condition she remembered it to be.

This despite the fact of said speedy recovery she seems to be having. Sure, none of the doctors could quite explain it, but Chloe didn't mind.

Beca was slowly but surely getting her bearing again.

There was one thing that Chloe wished she could explain though.

Well, maybe two.

The first is just the general weirdness of things. By weirdness, Chloe meant Beca's strange display of knowledge on things she shouldn't know about.

For example, just a week and a half ago, Chloe returned to Beca's room after work to find Beca humming, and then softly singing to a song she's never even heard before. Three days later, Chloe hears the song on the radio after the artist was interviewed about the release of her new single. How on earth did Beca even know the song beforehand? Chloe didn't, and she was sure everyone else visiting her wasn't aware of it either.

And then two days after that discovery, Beca was back to the swing of things with mixing. Her dad bought her a new laptop to keep her entertained whenever she was left alone. It took her all but ten minutes to figure her way around the latest model before she started setting things up. In half an hour, she was back at it with her genius beats and mash-ups.

Then there was that time when the two of them were talking about Chloe's senior year at high school. There was a school trip that Luke had been trying to organize as part of their music program at school, some show to watch in the city. All of a sudden, Beca comments on the idiot that Jesse almost got in a fight with while they were exploring the city after the matinee show they caught and how Stacie managed to get him out of trouble. Chloe looked at Beca strangely then, "How'd you know?"

"Um, I… Jesse told me…" Beca replied, trying to hide the fact that she was rather surprised by Chloe's question. Or perhaps she was surprised in knowing it herself.

But before Chloe could press on any further – she decided to shrug that off to Jesse probably actually telling her that story – Jessica, Ashley, and Lilly swung by.

And that's when an even greater curiosity occurred.

Chloe didn't meet the three until her sophomore year of college. The most that they know of Beca was through them and Ashley's and Jessica's fathers who were friends with Dr. Mitchell. The three of them decided to wait a while since Beca woke up before showing up at the hospital before properly introducing themselves. It was a group decision they made regarding Beca and slowly letting her know what they've been up to with their investigations. No, they don't want to influence Beca's memories much and make her an unreliable narrator or witness but they figured that if they were going to work together at some point, getting to know each other was inevitable.

They decided to take the baby steps with that visit. Besides, both Ashley and Jessica thought that getting to know Beca was just right, especially how their fathers were friends anyways.

But just as they stepped inside, Beca looked up at them and greeted them with a "Hey, how's it been?" as if she had known them.

Both Ashley and Jessica stopped on their tracks and exchanged looks then while Lilly simply looked at Beca questioningly.

They were all pretty much just astounded to find out that Beca knew them by their names. Again, Beca had tried to hide the surprise in her tone when she chucked it up to some misunderstanding, reasoning out that her dad talked about them so much that it felt like they've known each other for ages, especially when he was still trying to get her to go out and have friends her age when she was little.

Lilly didn't look like she bought the excuse, but Ashley and Jessica accepted it nevertheless. Apparently their fathers both had mentioned Beca once or twice when they were younger too, as Dr. Mitchell's daughter of roughly the same age of course.

But as soon as they left, Chloe couldn't help but voice out the question in her head. "How, Beca? How did you know who they are?" she had asked. "And don't make up excuses, I know you don't remember exactly, but you once promised that you're never going to lie to me."

Beca had simply nodded them and looked at Chloe dumbfounded. "I don't know." was her truthful response. "I just do. I have no idea how."

The second thing was the nightmares. It started as strange flashes of things that couldn't quite make sense, or so Beca would tell her after she wakes up in cold sweat. But they came more frequently as the days went by. Nightmares when Beca would find herself screaming, jolting right up as she wakes up from them. Chloe never wasted a second and would always immediately sit up herself, and try to figure out what's happening. She'd pull her into her arms, remind Beca she wasn't alone, and gently ask what was wrong. And when she would ask, Beca would take a deep breath and try to figure things out with her, talk about what she dreamt about. Strangely enough, it was never about her incident.

It was finding her dad bloody on a kitchen floor with a knife sticking on his back. Something that Chloe initially reasoned that she was still probably frightened by what she had experienced and her fears were manifesting themselves in nightmares that could make her feel the same way she did before she nearly died. That perhaps she still wasn't fully prepared to relive the moments that happened to her.

It was watching Benji be arrested from out far. Something that Chloe couldn't really explain but she reasoned that maybe because Benji hasn't visited or seen her, she was just missing him or something like that.

It was finding the trash bins with Chloe's coat and gloves outside their house. Something that Chloe couldn't come up with any reasons with that she decided to hold Beca tightly in her arms to calm her down, promising her that she wasn't going anywhere. She didn't feel like it was the perfect time to talk about what she had gone through with her step-mother then, she figured that's probably why Beca had that dream – again, her subconscious trying to tell her something. Her emotional state when she woke up was enough to save it for a later date.

It was being in a dark alley way, covered in blood with no place else to go. Chloe wasn't sure but perhaps that was an allusion to when they couldn't find a safe place to keep her. It was purely conjecture at that point because she wasn't exactly sure what she was dealing with then, and why Beca was having all these nightmares that rocked her to her core. Chloe felt helpless about it, all she could really do was be there for Beca and so that's what she decided to do.

It was being surrounded by police cars at some sketchy bridge in the city that Chloe thought Beca shouldn't be familiar with since she's never really lived in the city before when they were younger. That was last night, and Chloe wasn't really sure how to respond to it. Instead, she kissed Beca on her forehead, pulled her close and promised her that they would get to the bottom if things.

It was all truly intriguing, and Chloe wished she had the answers Beca was looking for, but she didn't.

All she could offer was her time, her attention, her support, and her love.

And she hoped that it was enough.

"Chloe… I… I don't think I can make it…" Beca said through gritted teeth, snapping her back to the present.

"I believe in you Beca. You made it this far before, don't give up now. Please?" Chloe replied offering her waiting arms as a refuge for Beca. Chloe had to admit, every time she'd see Beca struggle like this, doubt herself no matter what progress she makes, she felt like just running towards her side and whisking her away, make sure she's rested in bed and comfortable. Pampered and taken care of.

But that won't help Beca in the long run.

So no matter how much Beca complains, for as long as Chloe knew she wasn't at her physical limit yet, she knew she had to encourage her.

She had to push.

"Come one Beca. Look to your right, behind me. She's here again." Chloe noted, nodding towards the direction of a teenage girl who always seemed to be hanging around the facilities when Beca was doing her therapy. She'd watch from out far and always smile and look amazed when Beca ends up succeeding expectations.

Beca took a quick glance, looking a bit torn. "Would you let her down?" Chloe then asked, realizing she could use this to motivate Beca.

"No." she chuckled, shaking her head and ushered on.

And when she reached the end of her road with the parallel bars, Chloe welcomed her into her arms, congratulating Beca on a job well done before helping her back into her wheelchair.

"Should we finally go say hi to your fan?" Chloe then asked.

"Why not?" Beca replied with a smile. "Although to be clear, it's you who I don't want to let down the most." she then added making Chloe smile herself.

* * *

Things have been going pretty well the past two weeks with Beca.

Sure, she had about nine years of things to catch up on, but she wasn't in a rush. To her, she just wants to enjoy the time she's getting to spend with her friends who were constantly visiting her. She was also getting to re-establish her relationship with her dad, who might have even cried the night before when he noted that the progress they made that he thought would have been lost because of Beca's memory loss still actually existed, that they were still going on that right path of mending the broken things between them from decades ago.

To be honest, Beca wished she could remember what had happened that eased the tension in their relationship. But even if she couldn't, she knew, she could feel it, the stories her friends told her, her dad and Chloe too, they were true.

And maybe that's why the progress was never lost at all.

Then of course there was Chloe.

Beca wished she could remember what had brought them closer together. She wished she could relive the moments in her memories. For now, she would satisfy herself listening to Chloe's stories about what happened back then.

And anytime she'd worry about the past she had forgotten, Chloe would always whisk away the thoughts, kiss her on her forehead and smile. "Don't worry about it. I already told you, our past, I'll remember for the two of us. What happened to you, well, I'm hoping we'll find answers one way or another and catch the guy responsible for it. Just please remember, you're not alone Beca, not in figuring these things out especially. You have all of us. You have me."

Really, the fact that her friends, after all these years, continued to work towards proving that fact, the fact that Chloe stayed by her side even if they barely had a month of two of an actual history – not counting the pining that Stacie had teased her during her last visit and the stolen glances – was truly remarkable.

But with the good comes the bad, and by bad she totally meant the frustrations she felt with her own progress.

Chloe was kind and patient. She would always reassure Beca she's doing well with her therapy. The struggle was definitely real, every time she tried to stand up but with Chloe always pointing out the fact that she's made quicker progress than other patients who she had dealt with in the past builds Beca's hope up.

The fact that she's gained some sort of new friend along the way was a plus.

She can't really lose face now.

No not to Emily.

She's seen her around a few times when she does PT. Chloe has most definitely pointed her out a few times. It wasn't until a few days ago that Beca decided to actually say hi to her, Chloe taking her out for a walk around the hospital garden to get some fresh air. She rarely gets out, what with the insanity that was the press always trying to sneaking in to get the scoop on her, so it was a nice surprise to see Emily getting some sun herself, enjoying the fresh air.

As it turned out, she was in the hospital far longer than Beca was, a young girl with leukemia who was finally getting her shot with an upcoming procedure.

She ended up taking with Beca and Chloe for at least an hour before they decided to go back inside. After that, Beca makes it a point to come and check on her whenever she could. The hospital, after all, could be a lonely place for a teenage girl of eighteen.

Especially when you have to be brave to face the outcome of a future you have no control over.

Somehow, Beca could understand the feeling.

"You're scared, aren't you?" Beca had asked her earlier while the two talk after her therapy session.

"It's kind of hard not to be." Emily had replied truthfully. "Any advice?"

"You have to be courageous." Beca had then said, remembering a time when Benji gave her the same advice when he was pushing her to have friends.

"Yeah, but how do you become courageous?"

Beca had looked at her thoughtfully then, trying to remember the last time she ever felt afraid. Her messed up mind won't let her pull up anything but fuzzy memories in her head she really couldn't understand.

But then, Beca realized she didn't have to think that far back.

She had felt fear recently.

Every single damn time she woke up from her recurrent nightmares.

So Beca took a deep breath, looked Emily in the eyes and said, "I try to think about the things I can't live without. It can be something special, you're favorite food, or maybe a person. I think about that, what I want to see the next time I wake up. Because of it, I end facing any challenge with a smile on my face. Because of that of getting to see what it is that I can't live without."

Easier said than done, truth be told.

Because of that other feeling that comes along with her frustrations.

It usually hits her when she finds herself waking up from her nightmares, and especially when Chloe wasn't around to calm her down.

Panic, sheer panic.

That afternoon, it was because of a new dream, a dream of crashing into cold waters, struggling to free herself of a jammed seatbelt. Beca woke up in cold sweat, jolting right up from her bed that Chloe, who had work to do, had left up at an angle so she could be more comfortable when she wakes up. To her bedside was the food tray which had her laptop and the binder that Chloe had given her, the one her friends had made. Beca pulled the food tray closer to her to grab the binder and flipped towards the pages that detailed her accident. As she had thought, the details in her friends' notes matched the weird nightmare she had minutes earlier.

_Could I… Could I be remembering?_

Beca rubbed her temples as she tried to clear her head. How do you be brave in the face of great uncertainty? When contradicting dreams and nightmares seemed to make up the memories you've lost and have no idea how to piece back together?

How to be courageous when nothing makes sense?

She would think of Chloe, and somehow it would ground her.

But a sick feeling still filled her when thought about some of the worst things that popped up into her mind this past week alone.

Still, somehow, Beca thought that the answer could be closer to her than she even thought. That it could be in between the pages of that binder that told her of a story nine years in the making.

Beca focused on the notes in front of her yet again, but nothing. She had to admit, she was getting frustrated with the contradicting memories – if they were memories – and the holes left by the missing links that could connect the truth what was real in her head.

But it just felt too real. All of them.

Dream or nightmare or what really happened.

Like finding Chloe's things in the trash bins outside her house, the overwhelming feeling of distraught that filled Beca every time the thought of it resurfaces in her mind.

Or that one where she saw her father on the kitchen floor, surrounded by his own pool of blood.

It wasn't always all that bad though.

There was a dream of being in some abandoned bus with Chloe, the redhead pulling her close as they huddled close together on the backseat.

And then there were flashes of what Beca would like to call curious scenes.

Of her just passing by the playground after escaping a party Jesse had dragged her to, seeing Chloe alone.

Quickly followed by a flash of what Beca wasn't sure was true or wishful thinking, a flash of her holding Chloe's hand as they walked past the playground one late afternoon.

Then there was her walking Chloe home, helping her with what seemed to be a bag of gifts, Beca wearing nothing but Chloe's scarf because she forgot her jacket. She woke up one morning just as she said goodbye to Chloe after reaching their house.

The next time she fell asleep after that, she started dreaming of leaving her house, same bag of gifts in her hand, before all of a sudden seeing herself running through the woods with Chloe on the way to an abandoned bus.

The bus made sense in way, as Beca reviewed the notes. It was where they hid Chloe from her step-mom. Although she has still not been retold the full details of the story, her friends did explain to her that she essentially saved Chloe from the step-monster.

But then what's up with the contradicting narratives?

_Why isn't anything making any sense?_

Why did she see herself in her dreams reading files detailing Flo, Aubrey, and Chloe's deaths?

Something just wasn't right.

And Beca couldn't quite figure it out.

_What actually happened? Chloe died, but she's alive… what the heck is going on?!_

Why was she seeing scenes in her head where Chloe goes missing and one where Chloe keeps her promise of giving her birthday gift?

_What does it all mean?_

Beca closed the binder, coming up with nothing, as she set it aside and leaned back. She looked at the window, but with the blinders shut closed she really couldn't see much of anything outside. She was hoping she could have something more than the four lonely corners of her hospital room to keep her mind off of things.

She quickly turned her attention to the door after hearing a three tentative knocks. "I hope I'm not intruding." a man by her halfway opened door had said. He was well-dressed in a suit and all, a smile on her face. He was most definitely not one of her doctors, but Beca felt like she's seen him from somewhere before.

_Is he from the press?_

"Uh, no, you're not. Sorry, not to be rude, but who are you?"

"Ah, I guess the memory loss is true. I heard from one of your doctors." the man had said as he proceeded to enter, the door closing behind him as he walked towards Beca, stopping only as he reached the foot of her bed. "Still, I thought you'd at least remember me, Beca. I suppose if Mr. Westfield, I mean Luke, could have joined me, it would jog your memory a bit. Sadly he's busy being the principal of your old high school now."

Beca looked at him curiously, studying the lines on his face, the charming smile. His got a bit of gray streaks in his hair now, and he wore glasses too, but overall he still looked fairly young.

And if anything, mentioning the name of Beca's favorite homeroom teacher did help jog her memory a little.

Because the man standing right in front of her was his best friend, their guidance councilor, Chicago Walp.

"Mr. Walp?"

He smiles once more as he moves towards the blinds. "Ah, so you do remember me?"

"Well, you were our guidance councilor…" Beca then said with a shrug. "What I don't get is why you'd come and visit me?"

Chicago chuckled as he peaked outside. "Looks like we're clear of the paparazzi this afternoon." he noted before fully opening them and turning her attention back to Beca. "And of course I would. I'm not sure if you've also forgotten about it or not, but you and I got closer towards your last few month or so at school. We talked a lot, about helping others, helping Chloe." he explained as he walked towards Beca's bed again. "Are you comfortable with that angle or would you like me to lift your bed up a bit more?"

"No thanks, this is perfect." Beca replied, still looking at him curiously.

As if to answer Beca's silent question, Chicago took a deep breath and smiled at her lightly. "We were all crushed Beca, when we heard about your accident. Teachers shouldn't have favorites, technically speaking, but I suppose you were Luke's. I guess you can say you were mine as well. You were gutsy, smart despite being lazy with school work. More than that, you proved to be a great friend." he then said. "We couldn't really come see you much back at home, during the start of the investigations relating to your case at least, but Luke and I swung by as much as we could. We wanted to check on your dad too, make sure the two of you had everything you needed."

"Didn't know you cared deeply about me." Beca commented surprised to hear this from him.

"What can I say, I couldn't wait to have you wake up again, Beca. I wanted the man responsible for what happened to you be caught as much as everyone else. You're heroic deeds back then couldn't end in tragedy, after all." he replied as he stepped away and walked towards one of the modular bedside tables next close to the side of the door. "Really can't remember who it was?" he asked, his back turned against her.

"No." Beca truthfully replied.

"Shame." Chicago then sighed as he seemed to examine the fruit basket in front of him.

"Sorry if it's not much help, Mr. Walp. I think I've apologized for it one too many times, but I wish I could remember." Beca then replied.

"Oh, don't worry much about it Beca." Chicago replied, grabbing the knife next to the basket. "Oh and it's actually councilman Westin now." he went on to say with a cheerful tone. "I got married."

Beca chuckled. "Wait, wait,  _you_ changed your last name?"

"Yes, it couldn't be helped. My father-in-law was a peculiar man, he was actually the former councilman of the district I represent now. I ended up marrying into the family, so to speak. He hated my first name too, apparently Chicago from Atlanta didn't make any sense so I changed it to his middle name, Charles. At least he let me keep my own middle name."

"Oh, well, I guess he really is peculiar." Beca found herself commenting as she briefly looked away, turning her attention to the flight of birds that she caught a glimpse of from her open window. The outside scene was a nice change of view to her.

"What's important now is you're awake, Beca." he then said as he took the seat next to her, placed a plate with an apple by the corner of food tray in front of her and pulled it closer towards his direction with the knife still in his other hand. Chicago grabbed the apple and began deftly peeling the skin in straight and uninterrupted motion.

"Thanks. Mr. Walp, or do you prefer I call you Mr. Westin now or something?"

"Chicago is fine." he replied before he proceeded to slice the apples before setting it all the plate for Beca. He pushed the plate closer towards her. He cleared out the peels and grabbed the knife to set them aside. "You should take good care of yourself. I'm glad that something I'm working on is actually able to help someone I know."

"What do you mean?" Beca then asked, watching Chicago cross the room to toss away the skin of the apple she was now eating. Chicago shrugged and examined the blade of the knife for a minute or two as he responded.

"I work with a few groups, supporting foundations and such that work on improving the rehabilitation program in hospitals. For people like you. I was watching you the other day during a visit, you know? Glad to see you putting the facilities to good use, although I think you're still far from good shape." he noted.

"Yeah, I guess I'm just lucky I have Chloe helping me out. If you stick around, she'll be back in a bit. I bet it'd be a surprise to see you."

"I'm afraid I can't stay that long Beca." Chicago then said. "I'm only here to attend to some business matters. But perhaps another day." he then replied before setting the knife back next to the fruit basket. "I'll try to come see you as much as I can, if you wouldn't mind the company?"

"That's fine." Beca replied.

"Good. For now, you take care, Beca." he then said with a smile as he turned to leave.

Beca found herself looking out the window once more as soon as the door closed. She could make out some fuzzy image in her head of the same smile Chicago sported while he was in her room, for some reason it left her with some kind of unsettling feeling.

But for whatever reason she couldn't remember why.

She did remember the words he said, the ones he said before too, that her heroic efforts shouldn't end in tragedy.

So she figured, what he was saying had a bit of truth in them.

Still, she couldn't help but feel that same amount of panic as she felt before when she woke up from her afternoon nap.

If anything, it suddenly intensified.

_But why?_

_What is it? What am I missing?_

* * *

It was a bright sunshiny day and Amy couldn't help but wonder why she was spending it wondering around the hospital garden.

Oh wait, she does. Bumper had a little work related accident – mostly because they shouldn't be doing at work in the first place – and Amy was the one who rushed him to the hospital to get treated.

In other words, Bumper got burned in certain places…

With his parents currently in his room, checking in on him, Amy thought to take this time to walk around, clear her head, enjoy the day outside. She didn't want to leave him alone, mostly because she does feel like a smidgeon of responsibility for what happened to him. So she figured she'd stick around until the end of visiting hours before leaving him and coming the next day to check in.

The hospital garden wasn't exactly grand but it was pretty enough. For the most part, it seemed that the hospital's patients were the ones mostly enjoying the scenery. That's why she found it odd to see a man with a rather fancy looking camera hiding behind one of the bushes. Amy was quick to spot that he was taking pictures of two patients, some sick-looking teenager and a rather thin and pale looking girl in a wheelchair. For some reason, the girl in the wheelchair looked a bit familiar to Amy, but she just couldn't place where she's seen her before.

So Amy decided she had to do what she had to do.

She stormed towards the man, calling him out as she grabbed his camera and broke it. The ruckus she was making seemed to have caught the attention of the people around him, and at the earliest sight of security, he started scurrying off to find the nearest exit.

Amy huffed and soon found the girl in the wheelchair wheeling herself towards her with the younger girl with her close behind. She gave Amy a curious look for a moment or two before clearing her throat. "Um, thanks for that." she said.

"No worries. I don't get why that sick freak is taking pictures of patients, but I'm glad to have helped." Amy replied with pride.

"Media people are probably trying new tricks to get an exclusive on you, huh, Beca?" the younger girl commented.

"Probably. It's the first time I've actually seen them though. For minute or two, I thought everyone's been exaggerating things." Beca commented.

"Wait…" Amy then said. "Oh, you're the coma girl in the news! That's why you look so familiar!" she went on, finally realizing why she felt like she's seen her before.

"To be honest, I kinda feel like I know you too…" Beca then found herself saying as she stared at Amy a bit intensely. Amy was about to make a comment about it when she saw a redheaded girl running towards them in a hurry.

"Beca! I heard what happened and came as quickly as I could. Are you okay?" she then noted.

"Y-yeah. You didn't need to rush towards here, I know you're probably busy right now." Beca commented.

"No, I was on my way here to get you anyways." the redhead then replied.

"Don't worry much about it Chloe. This girl helped us here." the younger girl with Beca then said.

The redhead give a nod and turned around to greet Amy with a smile. "So I guess you were Beca's hero, huh? I'm Chloe. This is Beca and Emily." Chloe then said, introducing everyone.

"Nice to meet your little family. I'm Fat Amy."

"Fat Amy?" Emily replied confused.

"We'll stick with Amy." Beca then announced. "Seriously though, dude, how do I know you?"

"Uh, you don't. We've never met." Amy replied. "I mean, I'm probably the most popular pizza delivery girl out there. I can't help it, people love me. But again, we've never met shorty."

"Wait, why do you think you've met?" Chloe then turned to Beca to ask.

"I… I don't know…" Beca mumbled. "Just a feeling."

Amy watched as Chloe looked at Beca and then at Amy curiously before shrugging the whole thing off. "I'm just glad you're safe Beca. Wanna go back to your room? We can invite Amy to properly thank her and chat a bit more if you really want to figure out where you've seen her before."

"That might be a good idea. Wanna join us too Ems?" Beca then replied.

"Sure." Emily chirruped.

"Well, I guess I can grace your hospital room for a visit." Amy then replied. "You've got me curious myself."

Chloe chuckled at Amy's comment before turning to her once more. "Thanks again, seriously."

"Don't mention it Red." Amy replied. "I have a feeling shorty here would have done the same thing."

"Oh she probably would've. She's my hero too." she then replied, turning to face beca once more and shooting her a wink.

Beca chuckled. "I really wish I know what I did to deserve such a title." she replied.

Chloe held up her hand in front of Beca, she seemed to have wanted Beca to hold her hand or something because she didn't move an inch the entire time. "You provided me warmth on the coldest of my days, Mitchell, and you made me a simple but sincere promise. You took the first step forward when you were so scared of it, I knew I was. You took the dive and everything else followed suit." she then said making Beca smile a little.

Beca took a deep breath, all while Emily was looking like a giddy and excited girl behind her. Somehow Amy could get the feeling that the two of them were dating or something. If anyone asked her, she approved. The two looked like a cute couple to begin with.

Soon Beca found herself raising her hand as well, pressing her palm against Chloe's, their fingertips touching each other's. Beca fixed her gaze upon them instead of fixing them on Chloe's. She looked like she was going to say something but instead she gasped and locked her eyes on their pressed hands.

"Beca?" Chloe asked worried.

But before Beca could say anything else, her hand fell down and she lost all consciousness.

"Beca!" Chloe cried out. Emily was shocked herself with what had happened.

And Amy?

She was quick to her feet in trying to find them help.

She doesn't know why, but there was something about the girl in the wheelchair.

Something that made Amy care about her, just something she couldn't quite figure out.

So maybe they did spend that afternoon chatting.

But if anything, Amy promised she'd keep coming back for a visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, three guesses on what just happened to Beca? ;)
> 
> Also, I did say intense apple scene is intense… with all honesty, did you guys for a second think it was Beca he would end up cutting for a minute or two? Anyways, his return to the scene will be addressed more in the coming chapter (I think…)
> 
> BTW, the hand scene, it's similar to the one in Chapter 5 when Beca and Chloe started their friendship. ;)
> 
> UPNEXT: Secret agent Amy? Some sleuthing from the investigative team! Plans being set! And Beca wakes up… again…!


	22. Ace in the Hole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe is relieved to find Beca awake again. Beca weighs on a few decisions. Jesse recruits a new member of their team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, Beca's got a thing for dramatic cliffhangers… anyways, she does wake up again sooner than later. I do apologize for potential delays as the chapters seem to get longer so it takes me 2-3 days to finish them. Thanks for understanding and the support!
> 
> Here's chapter 22 with some spying by Amy in behalf of the investigative team, more interactions with the slimy villainous councilman, and some more Bechloe moments :3

It's been three days.

Beca's been out for three days and Jesse was getting antsy.

He was antsy since four days ago when Lilly noted the unexpected visitor swinging by Beca' s hospital room, Councilman Charles Timothy Westin aka their old guidance councilor and possible murderer at large Chicago Walp.

Jesse wanted to lounge at him, do something, anything, but Aubrey was quick to remind him that Chicago was free to visit the hospital where he's affiliated to through charitable networks, that nothing was exactly out of place, and since Beca seemed to be in one piece, him visiting an old student when he just so happened to be in the same place she was in wasn't exactly suspicious.

"But he nearly killed her once!" Jesse argued that night after going back on his initial, not exactly well thought out plan of going after Chicago now.

"Allegedly, Swanson.  _Allegedly._  There's still enough reasonable doubt that could prove him to be innocent. And trust me, I believe you. I honestly, truthfully, whole-heartedly believe that he is the man we're after, but if we make one miscalculated move and all of this falls apart. He gets away scot free, do you understand?" Aubrey argued, articulating every point she had to make without even unflinching.

"Ugh! But we have to do something! Beca's been out for three days, that's not normal!" Jesse then argued back.

"I'm with Jess on this one." Stacie then chimed in. "Sorry Bree, but he's got a point."

"Yeah, but Beca's tox screenings and all of the other tests they ran after she lost consciousness again were surprisingly normal. Nothing was out of place." Flo then said.

"It could also be that she was overwhelmed by something. If anything this might be her memories returning, or maybe even if not fully, she remembered something crucial." Denise then argued. "I'm not exactly the lead expert on the field, but one way or another,  _something_  exhausted all of her energies."

"Sounds more like something short-circuited her brain." Jessica then replied with a sigh. "And it's not entirely outside the realm of possibilities. Weird things have been happening."

Ashley nodded. "Yeah, like how she acted when she saw us. Like she already knew who we are. Right, Lilly?" she asked, turning to face her and Lilly nodded in response.

"Well what do you propose we do then? We can't just sit here and wait. But we can't let Chicago get the chance to get to her again. On that note, has anyone looped in Chloe?"

"I was planning to talk to her, but she's been so stressed out about recent events." Aubrey replied. "But I don't suppose waiting will make anything easier either. I'll talk to her tonight."

Jesse gave a firm nod as he took another deep breath to calm himself down. "Okay, so we focus on how we make sure Beca's safe, especially while she's unconscious." he said. "Anyone have any id-" Jesse went on to say before being cut off by a knock at their door.

"That's probably dinner." Cynthia Rose announced as she went to the door and lo and behold, she was right.

Outside was their pizza delivery person.

"Hey! Detective Adams! Fancy seeing you here. I have a delivery for a Jessica Smith?" he heard the blonde outside the door with a thick Australian accent say.

"Here, let me help you out with the boxes." Jesse then quickly offered as he saw five boxes of pizza being handed over to Cynthia Rose while Jessica went over to pay for the order.

Which inevitably led to the door being opened up a bit more.

And which inevitably led to the delivery person catching a glimpse of a cork board with pictures of Chicago's past victims, those he killed and the one that he only nearly killed.

Jesse tried to maneuver himself quickly to shield the board, Aubrey slyly placing herself in the way of any other questionable thing of interest when all of a sudden the delivery person, Amy if he heard Cynthia Rose call her right, said "Hey! Is that shorty?"

"Shorty?" Jesse asked her incredibly confused and surprised by the reaction.

"Yeah, like coma-girl. Beca Mitchell." Amy then said.

"Uh, no, you probably…" Aubrey started saying trying to cover things up but Amy didn't let her finish.

"Oh, I know my shorty when I see her. We've kinda only started being friends, like for a few minutes before she passed out. Still totally unconscious but I'm hoping she wakes up soon so we can pick up where we left off." Amy jovially went on to say.

"Wait, wait, wait. You know Beca?" Cynthia Rose then asked.

Before Flo chimed in. "Hang on, yeah! I've seen you hanging around lately."

She was quickly seconded by Lilly in the way of pulling up recent video log files of Beca's visitors and getting everyone's attention to see it.

"Hmmm, may I dare say, I think I found a solution to our problem." Stacie then said before nodding at Jessica who in turn ushered Amy inside their little office, closing the door behind her.

"Uh, what's going on?" Amy then asked.

"Amy, this is important. We're not gonna ask you to do anything illegal but you can't exactly tell people what it is. We're choosing to trust you because you sound like you care about Beca." Cynthia Rose started to explain.

"That and Lilly would undoubtedly hunt her down if something bad happens anyways." Ashley then added with a shrug.

Seconded by Lilly pulling her katana out from God knows where – Jesse has seen like three of them once each, it's like she has her own collection or something, but he's got no idea where she hides them – to admire, as if to prove a point.

Amy gulped but never the less nodded. "Uh, okay…"

Jesse took a deep breath. Trusting a stranger now felt completely insane, but Cynthia Rose seemed okay with Amy and Aubrey wasn't exactly protesting either.

"Guess, it can't be helped." Jesse said. "Amy, how would you like to join us in following the footsteps of someone who's a hero?"

"Are we talking about shorty?" Amy asked. "Cause illegal or not, I'm in."

"Yep, this is a terrible idea." Aubrey then hummed.

"I think it's completely unprecedented. So much so that it's brilliant." Stacie then said.

And Jesse couldn't help but agree with both sides.

But somehow, he felt like it was worth taking a shot to ask Amy's help.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Aubrey asked as Chloe looked at her in stunned silent. Granted it was a lot to process and Aubrey looked like she understood that as well, giving her a sympathetic and understanding look.

Someone they trusted, someone they counted on for help.

Someone who tried to save her life too…

He could have been… he was highly likely…

And it would make sense. Beca wouldn't just get inside a stranger's car willingly, and if she had put up a fight, there should have been more damages found, signs to indicate that was the case.

Because that was just Beca Mitchell.

Chloe took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she leaned back against the cool walls of the hospital stairwell. It was the only private place that they could talk other than Beca's room but Aubrey apparently didn't want to risk any of the doctors or nurses overhear them. The fact that Aubrey had insisted they be given rights to come visit Beca any time due to some sensitive matter – Chloe wasn't sure how she convinced the hospital to play along with this, granted they had an idea about Beca's case, but still they were most definitely pushing their luck – was already gaining some unwanted attention among the staff that they thought it best to make sure no one actually eavesdrop just to gossip about them.

Some people can't help themselves.

Sure, it was rather suspicious if anyone saw the two of them head towards the stairwell, at least for those with wild imaginations. But Chloe reasoned, in the stairwell, they can hear the doors open before anyone steps in and overhears them anyways.

"I'm fine, maybe." Chloe mentioned. "But where do we even begin…?"

"With finding him? Not far. He's a district councilman in the city." Aubrey stated plainly.

"And?" Chloe asked, her tone rising a little. "Please tell me you're building a case."

"I am, we are, but at the end of the day, we need strong evidence. Not something that's just circumstantial. And no pressure, but it all hinges on Beca and what she remembers."

"And if she never…?" Chloe then found herself saying, a mix of emotions welling up inside of her as a dozen or so different thoughts hit her.

If she never wakes up again… if she never remembers…

…he would get away…

…or he could kill her.

Which brings up a random thought to Chloe.

_The other day… Beca was saying something about guessing who visited her and sounded a bit amused… but she never did finish saying anything 'cause her doctors came in to check on her…_

"Drat! Why didn't I ask her?!" Chloe then found herself saying.

"What?" Aubrey asked, looking at her curiously with her sudden outburst.

"Beca, she said someone came to see her and…"

"Yeah, video tape evidence. Remember? Lilly's monitoring her." Aubrey then said. "Which leads me to the point I was going to make."

"He already came to see her." Chloe said under her breath, seething.

If this had been his doing, if this was his fault…

Chloe could feel herself getting sick at the thought of it, simply overwhelmed by everything Aubrey had just told her, and with what was currently Beca's situation.

She felt Aubrey pull her into a hug. "Breathe Chlo, breathe." she said, rubbing soothing circles on her back. "We'll get him. We'll play this smart, and out maneuver all his moves. We'll get him. Just… you just focus on Beca okay. We've got this, we all do. We've got our parts to play, and yours is to make sure that Beca gets back on her feet. Because Chloe, she will wake up again, you hear me? And for our part we're still digging on anything we can find, any mistake he made, that we can use to get him come what may."

Chloe held onto her best friend as tightly as she could, as if she was desperately clutching onto her words, her promise.

But her though could never get past the initial disbelief that someone they knew, someone they trusted was the same person who Beca was afraid would hurt their friends, would hurt Chloe herself.

And the same person who cleverly lured Beca into a trap that almost led to her death.

She parted ways with Aubrey just outside of Beca's room, her mind still on the things Aubrey had finally decided to share with her.

As she entered, she saw Dr. Mitchell sleeping on the other seat close to the door. Chloe looked at him, trying to figure out what he felt when they told him about this discovery, wondering how he could still keep his school knowing that someone he trusted with his child's life could have been responsible for all of this.

But all the dozen or so thoughts plaguing Chloe's mind all disappeared the instant she turned to check and see Beca on her bed.

Because no, Beca wasn't sleeping peacefully like Chloe had expected.

She was awake, her eyes staring at the ceiling looking deep at thought.

"B-Beca…" Chloe said almost breathlessly, rushing towards her side.

"Hey Chlo." she meekly greeted as she noted her presence next to her. Beca scooted over to one side of the bed, patting the space next to her and Chloe instantly filled that space, clinging onto Beca for dear life.

Just like that morning in the bus after the intruder had gone and left hours before.

Beca turned to face her, pulling her close in a tight embrace as she sobbed continuously. "Good morning… you idiot…" Chloe managed to say in between the sobs. "Could you please stop making me repeat myself?"

Beca chuckled. "It's still dark out." she then pointed out.

"It's two am." Chloe then said as she pulled her closer. "Would you please stop scaring the life out of me?"

"Alright, okay… I promise." Beca then said. "It'll be one of the last times." she then went on.

And Chloe wanted to ask what she meant by that.

But for that moment, her one main concern was that Beca was awake again and speaking with her, holding her in her arms.

And Chloe wasn't entirely sure, she never did pay much attention even in the past nine years, but she knew that she never did sleep properly without Beca by her side.

For some reason she found great relief being in Beca's arms, safe, comfortable, and with all her worries being whisked away.

Perhaps that's why she ended up drifting off to sleep a she felt Beca press a kiss on her forehead. "I promise, okay?" Beca said in a hushed tone.

"Don't worry Chloe. Don't worry about anything, okay? I'm here. I promised. I'll protect you always."

* * *

"Uh… Amy… that's… I can't… I can't possibly eat all of that!" Amy heard Beca exclaimed as she scooted past the door of her room with a good tower of seven boxes of pizza in her hand.

"Oh, but Red said you'd be hungry after therapy. Hungry and tired." Amy then noted.

"Yes, hungry, not starving to death. And what does pizza have to do with being tired?" Beca noted as she eyed suspiciously eyed all seven boxes stacked on top of the other. Amy placed her little leaning tower of pizza on one of the bedside tables before grabbing the top box and setting it up on the food tray for Beca.

"I could actually argue against that. Have you seen yourself? You're still skin and bones shorty." Amy commented as she pulled up a chair and sat next to Beca on her bed.

This has been their usual thing the last four days since Beca woke up. Sure, Beca's friends practically dragged her into things, made her promise to keep an eye out on Beca during the hour or so that she was actually all alone. Amy was pretty much fuzzy with the rest of the details, apparently they were all worried that the person responsible for Beca's near death was still out there and could possibly try and kill her again so they want someone to report back if anyone suspicious was hanging around her. But it wasn't like Amy wasn't going to do any of that in the first place. The visiting and keeping Beca company thing not the spy on Beca's visitors thing.

So far though, it's mostly just been the two of them. Amy's been checking in on Beca since she fell unconscious, so yeah, she would know. Perhaps the only three people she ended up visiting ebca with while she was still out were Chloe, Emily, and Beca's father.

But no, no one suspicious so far.

And Amy would know, she was taking this whole thing to heart.

Four days, that's all it took to sign her up as loyal best friend number one, no matter how hard the lawyer guy, Swanson, protested. Amy wasn't sure what it was about Beca, but she could tell she was someone special.

And there was just something about the pint-sized hero every single one of her friends adored that just easily endeared herself to Amy. It was as if, somehow, someway, deep down inside, she knew that if she ever found herself in trouble, no matter how close they were to being friends or being strangers, Beca would come to her aid and save her.

It did help that her friends couldn't help but tell stories about what Beca did back in high school that inspired them all to work this hard in catching the man who tried to kill her when they trying to convince Amy to do them this favor. Sure, it seemed like something simple, but the fact that Beca nearly gave up her own life only proved that she was right, someone was lurking in the shadows that put everyone in danger before. And if anything, it made her admire her courage of pursuing the truth despite the odds of anyone ever believing her.

For Beca's part, she seemed to be warming up to Amy very easily. Something that most of her old pals found odd whenever Amy gave her report on things. But to Amy, she figured it was just because she was too fabulous of a friend to be kept out of any walls, imaginary or not.

The two of them managed to get through a box and a half of pizza – Beca claiming that her father can enjoy the remaining half when he gets back that afternoon – while talking about their respective days. Beca was doing most of the listening, highly amused about the everyday shenanigans that Amy got herself into.

Soon, the two of them went on a quick visit to Emily, whose room was two floors above from Beca. Amy helped Beca into her wheelchair before grabbing the remaining pizza boxes Beca decided to share with Emily and the nurses in the nurse station on her floor and Emily's floor.

Amy protested at first, they were supposed to be Beca's pizza, but if Beca wasn't going to finish them all, then might as well. It would be such a shame to let the food go to waste.

It was just another day typical day.

But as they reached Emily's hallway, Amy knew, something else was different that day.

It started with a laugh that Emily could pick up from just outside Emily's doorway.

At first Amy thought that it could have been Emily's dad. She's never met them before, Emily would talk about her parents a lot but they always seemed to be busy with work during the day so that they can spend the rest of the night with their daughter.

But it would seem that her guess was wrong. As soon as they entered the room, Beca pretty much provided Amy her answer.

"Mr. Walp, what are you doing here?" Beca asked, her tone filled with such innocent curiosity.

And Amy was kind of happy that the man in the room with them turned his full attention to Beca after that as the two exchanged greetings, "I told you, you can just call me Chicago from now on." he said jovially before catching Beca up with his conversations with Emily.

Apparently he was expanding his charitable work to encompass kids with cancer or something. Amy wasn't really paying much of attention to the mundane things he said.

She knew the name. Of course she knew the name. Of course Atty. Swanson and Det. Adams warned her about the man.

And sure, Amy doesn't really know him to judge him. She knew that what they said about him could totally just be one side of a bigger picture.

But there was something about him, in the way he moved, that just seemed eerily calculated as he talked about high school Beca and the misadventures she found herself in, or how the junior high next to them warned the high school faculty of the troublemaker who was to be their problem after Beca started her freshman year.

Beca didn't seem too fazed about anything, at least she didn't show any signs that she was suspicious of him or anything, at least not from what Amy could tell.

So it was up to her to keep a keen eye.

Because all of Amy's instincts were screaming and blaring warning signs at her about the man who's found himself placed in Emily's and Beca's lives at the moment.

No, she didn't trust him.

Not from his ever plastered smile, or the listlessness in his eyes that he tried to hide.

His presence most definitely made her feel agitated.

Perhaps that's how she found herself dashing out of the hospital after he had left and Amy finished helping Beca get settled in her bed back in her room and as soon as Chloe arrived.

"Amy, what is it?" Jesse asked as he opened door of their little rag-tag investigative unit. "You knocked on the door like eighteen consecutive times, Lilly counted."

"We've got a code Bulls situation." Amy replied practically darting inside the room.

"Code Bulls?" Aubrey asked, sitting on the couch buried underneath a pile of folders. "What is she talking about Swanson?"

"Do I look like I know?" Jesse replied looking just as lost.

"I believe Amy decided to develop her own naming system in case of emergencies." Ashley pointed out after taking a sip of her coffee. "Bulls, as in Chicago Bulls. She was pertaining to suspect number one." she added dryly after Jesse, Aubrey, Cynthia Rose, and Jessica looked at her curiously. Only Lilly seemed to have nodded along, making the connection immediately.

"Okay, what about primary suspect number one?" Jessica then asked.

"He's most definitely made contact with Beca, and he seems to have developed an interest with one of Beca's hospital friends, Emily." Amy immediately blurted out.

Everyone in the room exchanged looks, with Aubrey and Jesse seemingly having a silent conversation between themselves. With a nod from Aubrey, Jesse cleared his throat, cleared out a space on the couch for Amy as he ushered her to take a seat.

Once seated, Jesse crouched down on the floor, meeting Amy eye to eye before he spoke.

"Tell us everything you know."

* * *

"Are you sure you're comfortable?" Dr. Mitchell asked as he straightened out the ends of Beca's comforter after he raised her bed up a bit.

"Yeah, I told you dad. I'm okay." she replied with a chuckle. With her recent episode of losing consciousness, everyone around her – her father and Chloe most especially – seemed to be fussing over her more than ever.

Normally, it would get on her nerves, but lately Beca found herself just enjoying the attention. She promised she'd stop complaining about things she's actually blessed to have. Seriously, she should know that by now.

"Well, if you're sure." Dr. Mitchell said with a smile as he made his way back to the side of Beca's bed so he can roll the food tray with her laptop closer to her. "Chloe said she'll be back with your dinner in a few minutes. I might head out and grab myself a bite before checking in on your friends. They can get pretty out of hand sometimes." he noted, making Beca laugh a little. He's told her that they're most definitely continuing the investigations on who's done this to her. Her friends have mentioned it from time to time as well, especially after she's officially met Lilly, Ashley, and Jessica. They would comment on work every now and then, but nothing about anything relating to the case itself, just what they were up to. Whether Jesse fell asleep on the couch again, or if Lilly threatened anyone who touched her stash of extra spicy ramen.

It amazed Beca, just how much effort they've been putting into this.

"Thanks for looking out for them." Beca then said.

"Someone has to. Besides, I can't let them shoulder the responsibilities that should have fallen upon my shoulders. They really didn't need to do any of this Beca, and it really amazes me you've found good people like them to call as friends." Dr. Mitchell then said.

"You and me both." Beca admitted as she reflected upon the fact that her friends were all still looking out for her.

"By the way, I couldn't help but notice you calling me 'dad' again." Dr. Mitchell then said with a smirk almost eerily similar to hers.

_Guess we really are blood related._

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it. Who knows, I might once again call you my progenitor one of these days." Beca replied, making her father chuckle as he shook his head in response.

"I'll keep that in mind. You have a good night, okay sweetheart?" Dr. Mitchell then said as he gathered his things, making one last round of Beca's room to make sure everything is set for her.

Beca nodded. "You stay safe, okay?" she then found herself saying as Dr. Mitchell simply nodded and smiled. As he walked towards the door, Beca couldn't help but call out to him one last time. "Oh, and dad…"

"Yes, Beca?" Dr. Mitchell asked, turning to face his daughter just as he was about to open the door, one hand on the knob.

"I'm sorry." Beca then found herself saying, making Dr. Mitchell look at her questioningly. "Sorry for always taking the bull by its horns."

Dr. Mitchell chuckled. "Honey, you  _always_ take the bull by its horns. There's no need to apologize for it now when it's what you always do anyways." he replied before waving goodbye one last time and finally heading out.

Beca found herself smiling at that response, feeling a little bit lighter.

If anything, it quitted her busy heart a bit.

As she tried to calm the storms in her mind.

_Decisions. Decisions._

Beca sat on her bed thoughtfully after he had left. Trying to keep herself calm and sorting her thoughts in order. The past was over and done, her future all within her reach.

And it all depends on what happens in the present.

But she was limited with her options.

And with the time she had left, she knew that for sure.

That's why ever since she woke up, she's been weighing on the decisions she needed to make.

"Hey! What's with the serious faraway look?" Beca soon heard Chloe ask as she entered the room with a bag of home-cooked meals in hand. Beca simply smiled, the cheerful note in Chloe's tone making her feel warm inside. It was a constant reminder that all was right in the world again, with Chloe being as happy-go-lucky as she was.

She couldn't help note the worried look she would sometimes see in her eyes and somehow Beca felt responsible for it, making her wish she could just whisk away all their troubles in an instant.

But the storm hasn't completely passed, not just yet.

They still have to weather one final hurricane, Beca could feel it.

"Nothing, just thinking." Beca then replied as Chloe busied herself with setting everything aside, including Beca's laptop for now so she could properly eat. "And that smells good, did you make that?"

"Yup." Chloe chirruped. "You kinda have to learn how to cook when you're roommates with a lab rat and a workaholic."

"How are those two things different?" Beca then asked with chuckle, thinking about Stacie and Aubrey and how they would survive if Chloe hadn't been with them through it all.

"One of them will gladly survive off a steady diet of alcohol, ramen, and bread. The other forgets that eating is a thing." Chloe replied all-knowingly.

Beca simply nodded in response, taking it all in as she watched Chloe move about. "What?" Chloe then asked as she settled on the seat next to Beca with her own food after setting everything up for Beca.

"You don't need to do all of this for me, you know? I'm sure it gets pretty tiring sometimes." Beca then noted.

"Don't be stupid." Chloe then replied. "I mean, the only thing I'd trade this for is having an actual meal with you not confined in a hospital bed. Maybe somewhere nice someday."

"Chloe Beale, are you asking me out on a date?" Beca asked, feigning surprise.

Chloe chuckled. "Well, if I wait for you to ask, I'd wait forever now, won't I?"

Beca shook her head and laughed. "Hey, you'll never know. I might surprise you." she then replied before looking at Chloe once again with all the love in the world.

Seriously, every time she thought about it, thought about the things Chloe had to endure, the things she had gone through the last nine years… the fact that what could've have undoubtedly felt like forever didn't deter her hope that one day Beca would wake up once again… it was all so overwhelming.

Chloe didn't need to say it. The words were already one-upped by her actions.

She knew. Yes, without a shadow of a doubt, Beca knew that Chloe Beale loved her.

So much so that she's never left her side no matter how hard it got.

And somehow Beca felt bad.

She knew she would have to put Chloe to the ringer one more time before all of this ended.

"Okay, what now?" Chloe asked, her voice sounding so soft, sweet, and concerned as Beca looked at her all glassy eyed.

But Beca shook her head and shrugged. The words weighing down on her chest felt like lead on the tips of her tongue that she failed to say them now. She'll have to tell Chloe at some point, she knew.

But now, it was more important to tell her something else.

In case she never gets another chance for it.

She's already wasted so many opportunities in the past.

"You know I love you, right?" Beca then found herself saying. "You do know that I've loved you from the start, right? That I'll always love you and that I always have, whether I was aware of it or not, and even before I could even understand what love is. You've always been what was missing, what couldn't find no matter how much a I had to dig deeper… you were it… and I'm so lucky that I got the chance to know and experience your love." she went on as her emotions got the best of her, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Chloe was immediately on her feet, moving Beca's food tray aside as she sat next to her on the bed. She wiped away the tears as she herself got all teary eyed. "Seriously, Beca, what's gotten into you? I'd have you know, nothing makes me happier than knowing you love me too, but I'd rather you say it and not sound like you're about to say goodbye."

Beca chuckled and nodded in agreement. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm just scared. With everything that's happened, the one thing I know is that I don't know what's coming next. I just wanted you to know."

Chloe simply smiled and pressed her lips against Beca's, kissing her gently, softly, before pulling her into a tight embrace.

"Just don't leave me again." she heard Chloe whisper. "I don't think I can make it if you do."

"I'm not going anywhere." Beca replied in a firm tone. "I promise you that."

She was determined to keep that promise to Chloe.

And like all promises she's made her, whether it be something Chloe knew herself or not, Beca was damn sure she was going to keep it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, that was intense. I wasn't sure how I was going to end the chapter so I hope that was a worthy enough end for now. Hey, at least it's not a cliffhanger, am I right?
> 
> I do apologize for the suspenseful build. Stuff's about to go down in t-minus 2 chapters. I hope I'm giving you guys a worthy adventure with this adaptation though. :)
> 
> PS: So, what's the verdict guys? Do you think Beca remembers who Chicago is? Does she remember anything at all? What on earth is going through that head of hers?!
> 
> Here's a hint, go back to chapter 1… to what Theo said to Beca when he commented on the mixes she gave him and revisit her last dialogue with Chloe ;)
> 
> UPNEXT: A trap being spun! Suspenseful interactions! And a confession?!


	23. Resurgence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca weighs on decisions that needs to be made. Jesse and Beca have a little chat. Chloe learns a secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I just realized that we have two more chapters to go before this fic ends… I mean, as the writer, I know it’s about to end, but also, whoa, it’s about to end…
> 
> Anyways, here’s chapter 23. I totally enjoyed how this chapter ended (it kinda leaves you hanging for a bit but there’s a purpose to that, I promise). That said, the next one will take me time to finish just because it’s jam-packed with intense exchanges and what-nots.  
> Thank you all for the continuous support! I appreciate it very much. On days when I’m too tired to function, you guys keep me going ;)

“Ah, I see you win again.” Chicago said in a rather jovial tone. Beca was playing with him, Emily, and Amy in her room that afternoon. The last three afternoons were spent either in her or Emily’s, with Beca’s doctors asking her to take it easy for a week before resuming therapy to make sure she was in tip-top shape.

Which, of course, meant a whole lot of boredom. Chloe would spend as much time as she could with her, but for the most part it was just Beca and her laptop, mixing. A few minutes with quick visits from her friends, including Amy of course.

And well, this. Playing cards with Emily, Amy and Chicago.

“Yeah, she’s pretty good.” Amy replied, eying Chicago a bit as she sounded cautious and weary of him. Beca excused it to Amy’s own weirdness, although she couldn’t help but wonder what it could be about him that Amy knew to make her feel and act that way.

Not that Beca could blame her.

“I honestly thought I was going to win there for a second.” Emily said sounding defeated.

“Guess my poker face is better than you thought Ems.” Beca replied with a smirk.

“Indeed.” Chicago grinned. “This one must not be underestimated.” he then said to Emily before checking for the time. “Oh, it looks like it’s time for me to go. Would you like me to bring you back to your room now Ms. Junk?”

“Sure. Thank you Councilman Westin.” Emily replied before Chicago offered his help to get Emily on her wheelchair. The two bid their farewell, Beca keeping her eyes on them as they left a smile on her face.

A smile that completely fell away as soon as the door closed and she was left with no one but Amy.

“You-you okay, Beca?” the Australian asked as Beca’s mood changed, her hands forming tight fists on her lap.

“I’m fine Amy.” Beca replied. “Hey, before you leave, can you check on Em too?” she then asked.

“Worried about the not-so-little one?” Amy then replied, her usual demeanor returning. “Say no more shorty.”

“Thanks Amy.” Beca replied as she steadied her breath and calmed the anger burning deep inside her.

_Patience, Mitchell. Patience._

_You should have learned that by now._

 

* * *

 

“We just got here…” Aubrey pointed out as soon as she heard what Beca had to say. They came in for a visit a good minute ago and Beca, who for the past three days seemed to be distracted by something as far as Jesse could tell, immediately asked if they could return later instead with Flo, Cynthia Rose, and Lilly. “Besides, Stacie can’t come back later. She’s running some weird experiment that she just has to be at the university for until late.”

“Or I can come back to visit when I can, just, why are you trying to get rid of us so soon Beca?” Stacie then asked sounding a bit hurt and confused.

Jesse can’t blame her there. He felt the same way.

“It’s not like I’m trying to get rid of you, I just need to talk to you as a group and I don’t want to repeat myself with the necessary people.”

“So I’m not necessary anymore?!” Stacie then said, feigning indignation.

“That’s not what I… geez, I mean, you guys can stay a bit longer. I just need you to come back again later. I figured, if I let you go know, you could get some work done and not be too busy later.”

“Busy or not, we’ll be here if you need us Beca.” was Jesse’s immediate response.

And for the first time ever, Jesse found Beca looking at him with sincere fondness. “I know, I just don’t want to impose on your life.”

“Beca, you’re not imposing on anyone.” Stacie immediately said, jumping in.

“We’re doing this because you inspire us.” Jesse then added.

“And I suppose, because you’re not exactly half bad, hobbit.” Aubrey chimed in.

Beca chuckled. “Okay, fine.” she replied. “I just, well… make sure you guys come back.”

“We will, Beca. Promise.” Jesse reaffirmed her. “But tell me, how are you feeling?” he asked. This was his subtlest way of asking if she remembered anything or if she has a guess on why she lost consciousness.

Because her doctors’ official consensus was not that helpful.

They’ve come to the conclusion that she was just tired, and fatigue got the best of her, mostly because of the excitement of getting visitors and the hubbub of the news personnel still camping outside and all.

“I’m okay.” was Bea’s simple reply. “But tell me about you guys? I’m tired of answering questions about me, my doctors and nurses do that all day. How’s the work stuff going? How’s your rag-tag team of investigators? You guys seem to be working my dad a lot.”

“Busy. Busy. And he’s great help, really.” Aubrey replied for them all.

“Have you… do you have any suspects?” Beca then asked. “I mean, did you guys figure out who it was?”

Jesse looked over at Stacie and Aubrey for minute, the two looking back at him as they considered what answer to give Beca. The obvious and truthful answer was they did and they were working hard on building a case against him.

But they can’t tell Beca that, they can’t tell Beca more than the whole, we’re looking into things schpill unless Jesse knew for sure her memory was back. They didn’t want to compromise her.

If they tell her, they might influence her memory.

Worse, the reliability of her testimony would be called into question.

“We have our suspicions.” Aubrey then replied, beating Jesse to the punch. “But we can’t tell you Beca, it would be planting ideas in your head, false memories, and unreliable narratives and all. We want to build a strong case against this person.”

“It would be easier if we could get them to confess to their crimes, huh?” Beca then replied, looking away for a moment, looking deep at thought.

And Jesse could’ve sworn, he’s seen that expression on Beca’s face before.

_Right, back then, when she was deep in thought…_

_…as if there’s something only she knew about…_

_…as if… does this mean…?_

“Sorry guys, I don’t mean to push, but I am kind of tired. Swing by later?” Beca then said as she turned to address them again.

“Yeah, sure. Get some rest Mitchell, and don’t push yourself too hard. I don’t want to see Chloe an emotional mess ever again.” Aubrey then replied before urging him and Stacie to leave.

“We’ll swing by again later. Until then, relax a bit, okay Beca?” Jesse then said, stopping short of exiting the door.

Beca nodded. “Thanks Jess. I will.”

Jesse admits they have their suspicions but he doesn’t want them to influence her actual memory, especially when she still can’t remember anything

 

* * *

 

Chloe had just about return with dinner in hand when Beca’s guest – Aubrey, Jesse, Flo, Lilly and Cynthia Rose – had left. She knew that Jesse and Aubrey had swing by earlier with Stacie, but she didn’t know the two were planning to come back.

That in itself wasn’t suspicious at all. Jesse swung by whenever he could step away from work and their own investigative work. But the looks on their faces as they each passed her by the hall definitely made Chloe wonder.

Especially as Beca seemed to have the same look of being deep in thought as Chloe stepped into the room. “You’ve been doing that a lot lately.” she commented, setting down the bag of home-cooked meal prepared by Dr. Mitchell for the two of them. Chloe was going to start readying the food when she noticed Beca not budging at all, still looking at the wall, looking quite torn about something.

“Beca, what’s the matter?” Chloe asked, leaving the food be for now. Instead, she walked towards Beca, sitting on the edge of her bed. “Hey, what’s wrong Beca?” she then gently asked, brushing aside a loose strand of hair away from Beca’s face, grazing her cheeks in the process.

Beca turned to look at Chloe, her glassy stormy blue eyes looking straight into hers, smiling just a little.

And all Chloe could see was that something was making Beca feel emotional at the moment.

But she was too lost in the enamored way Beca looked at her, as if she held all the love in the world.

“Everything’s finally perfect.” Beca then found herself saying.

“Then what’s gotten you like that?” Chloe then asked. Beca took a deep breath before pausing for a moment to think of what to say.

“Look, Chlo, there’s no easy way to say any of this.” Beca started, looking away from Chloe briefly.

“Say what?” Chloe pressed on, starting to get worried.

Beca shook her head and smiled. “Well, first of all, I’m so sorry.”

“Beca, what on earth are you apologizing for?”

“I always make you worry.” Beca then clarified. “I’m afraid for all of this to end, you’ll have to get worried about me again. I’m sorry for putting your emotions to the ringer time and time and again.”

“What do you mean?” Chloe asked, she was starting to get lost in what Beca was trying to say. “Is this about Jesse? Or Aubrey? Did they ask you to do something reckless?”

“Oh, no. No, no, Chloe, please don’t be mad at them.” Beca immediately replied. “I guess in a sense, it’s me that had the idea.”

“What idea?” Chloe asked breathlessly, just desperate for answers.

“Please Chlo, I just… I’m not crazy!” Beca then said, sounding incredibly unsure and desperate making Chloe wonder what on earth it could be that she was going on and on about.

_Was she…? Did she…?_

“I know it’s not going to make sense, none of it will, but it’s the truth.” Beca went on, grabbing Chloe’s hands and holding both of them in her own. “And I have to do this, now that I… now that I can… It’s gonna be risky, I don’t know how much _he_ knows or how much he realizes I know and remember since I woke up again. But I can’t Chloe… I thought about this a lot the past three days, and the longer he’s still out there, the greater the chance that he can still hurt you, all of you. And I can’t Chloe, I already failed you two times, I’ve made it this far, yes with a price, but I’m not going to let him kill you _again.”_

Chloe looked at Beca at a loss as she processed everything she said.

She could get why she was worried. If she remembers what happened, if it really was Chicago Walp behind it, she would understand what she meant when they said they were still in danger.

But Chloe’s curiosity was piqued when Beca said she’s failed her twice already, because last time Chloe checked, Beca never failed her.

And then she goes and say she won’t let him kill her _again._

What on earth did Beca mean?

“Beca…” Chloe said at a loss as her brain tried to keep up with figuring out what Beca had just said. She took her hands out Beca’s own and cupped her cheeks. “Beca, I’m right here. I’m not dead. What are you talking about?”

Beca shook her head, one look in her eyes and Chloe could see, she could feel, the desolation behind them, with whatever nightmare or memory was taking hold of her.

“Chlo…” she said gently, taking hold of Chloe’s hands once again as she brought them down. “I just want you to know the truth, before anyone else and before anything else happens. I just want you to know the absolute truth. And it’s going to be hard to hear, it’s not gonna make sense, and it most definitely will sound crazy but I can prove everything, I think I can. I just need you to listen, understand a little, and if you could just believe in me one more time…”

“Beca, how many times do I have to tell you? You don’t even need to ask me to believe you. I always do.” Chloe immediately replied, not letting Beca finish. “Beca, I love you. You asked me if I knew you loved me, but you do know I love you, right? And I told you, will figure this out together, right? So please believe in me too. I just, you’re not making sense to me right now, Beca. I need you to help me understand.”

Beca nodded and took another deep breath before speaking again. “Those dreams,” she started to say. “they’re not just dreams. All of them. They’re memories.”

Chloe looked at her incredibly confused. “Beca, your nightmares involved seeing your dad killed. Benji arrested. You possibly set-up for murder. I don’t understand how they can be real when they’ve never happened.”

“But they did, Chloe.” Beca adamantly insisted and a part of Chloe knew she was telling the truth.

She just couldn’t understand why she would believe something so horrible as that as a the truth.

“I want you to know, I did all of this because I wanted to stop him from killing you again, I failed you twice Chloe, and I simply couldn’t fail a third time, I couldn’t let him hurt you a third time.” she went on to repeat her earlier statement. “I didn’t think… I thought it would be enough if I could just aka a difference, if I could just change those horrible things… but I found myself falling for you, my childhood crush turning into something more. I wanted to right my mistakes, and get the chance I never had before. The chance I never got the first time because I was too afraid, because I shrugged things off and wrote myself off for never having a chance.”

“Beca, what…” was all Chloe could say, her brain still trying to catch up with what Beca was trying to say.

Because what Beca was implying now was sounding to be impossible.

“I failed to let you know the second time because I was too naïve and short-sighted of the overall goal, I just wanted to keep you safe. I got too excited in reliving a moment of my life that had slipped by without knowing. And I guess I still messed up the third time because I almost got myself killed.” Beca went rambling on.

“But that’s why I knew, Chloe. That’s why I knew you were in danger in that bus, because the things we found in the backpack were the same things he used… he-he used…” she then said sounding incredibly overwhelmed, and torn, and even more emotional.

But Chloe didn’t need to hear the rest of that sentence, she could connect the dots herself with what Beca meant.

And by the way Beca looked, Chloe found herself trusting her words to be true more and more.

It still didn’t make any sense though.

Especially when Beca was essentially saying she was dead.

That she was killed.

Twice.

And by the same person who nearly killed her.

Chloe wasn’t going to lie, it was a hard thought to process.

 “Beca,” Chloe said, finally finding her words again as she gave Beca’s hands a squeeze to stop her from speaking in riddles on and on. “What are you talking about?”

“Sorry… I suppose I need to start from the beginning…” Beca said, taking deep breaths to calm her down. “But I warn you, this is gonna sound pretty insane.”

“You already said that.” Chloe then replied.

“Well, I’m giving you the heads up because it’s not going to be an easy story to tell.” Beca then said. “Especially since the start of all of this is, well, it’s kind of place I can’t go back to anymore. God, I hope I don’t get pulled back to it anymore.”

Chloe couldn’t help but chuckle with Beca’s last comment. She shook her head, none of it truly made any sense, that much was established.

Does Chloe want to know the answers to what Beca said? A part of her knew it would be hard to listen to. But either way, if Beca wanted her to know about it, she knew she had to find out.

If only to fully understand what’s been going on in their lives. “And when is that?” she then asked.

Beca bit her lip and looked at Chloe with a bit of uncertainty. She sighed, closed her eyes, and tried to gain a bit of composure before looking back at Chloe once more.

“A year from now.” Beca replied. “In a different lifetime... one where I lost you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Pt2: So Beca told Chloe… :D Sorry I didn’t get to do the whole, let me refresh you (my faithful readers) with your memory of events as she told Chloe. I Beca rambling things out because it’s the closest thing I could think up happening in reality because that’s how I sometimes am when I’m trying to get to the point of something BIG and I’m nervous about it.
> 
> But anyways…
> 
> I wonder what happens in the next chapter (I’ll try to get it up either Sunday or Monday)? XD Chapter 25 will be an epilogue ;3
> 
> PS: After this fic, I’m planning to take a month or so off before I work on finishing my last still on-going fic (A Twist in the Story). I have to give a presentation for a conference and then group meeting for our lab group, so… yeah… busy month ahead. But then I’ll pick up the pace from the 4 chapters already up and religiously update every other day or two.


	24. Something Wicked...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "What did you mean when you said you knew Beca?" Chicago asked. "No one knows my plans. No one knows my secrets, I've done quite a good job at keeping them. I'm not like those idiots who purposefully left behind vague clues that could lead to them because they want someone to know."
> 
> "I already told you." Beca then said, taking a deep breath to keep herself calm. "I meant what I said, I knew your future."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Here it is, the longest chapter of this fic ever aka the most intense chapter of this fic ever, aka your possible cause of death and then revival :D
> 
> This chapter, a summary: 'Beca… no, don't go with the man who wants to kill you…' to 'Beca… no, stop.' to 'DAMN YOU CHICAGO/ProtectEmily2k18' to 'Beca, shhh. Stop talking…' to 'Beca… What are you doing?' to 'BECA WTH ARE YOU DOING?' to 'BECA, STOP PROVOKING YOUR WOULD BE MURDERER!?' 'NOOOOOOOOOO!' and if you survive the ensuing heart attack, to 'BECA, I LOVE YOU!'
> 
> Sorry if it's vague, those where my thoughts as I was writing this…
> 
> …if you survive the rollercoaster, there is a treat at the end and a flashback like scene from something that was supposed to be in the last chapter that I moved here instead to keep the suspense. ;)
> 
> PS: We have Chicago's POV in this chapter, don't worry, it's brief. Most of it happens between 'NOOOOOOOOOO!' and 'BECA, I LOVE YOU!' (aka, somewhere in the middle of your heart attack)

"Are you sure?" Chloe asked. She looked tired, worried, and all worn out from the last two days of talking about pretty much everything that Beca knew whenever they could.

Beca couldn't really blame her though. It was a lot to take. She found some comfort at the thought that Chloe didn't up and leave though, that she listened and didn't just write everything off as some weird figment of Beca's imagination.

"I can still…" Chloe went on to say as she lingered by Beca's door. She was supposed to leave for work but Beca could sense that she'd stay a bit longer to wheel her to Emily's room instead.

Beca smiled weakly. "I can handle it Chlo." she said, circling around in the tiny space of her room a little as if to show off. Chloe had helped her to get on it just minutes before. "You have to go." she added, plain and simply.

"I don't have to." Chloe then replied, looking a little teary-eyed as she stepped back into the middle of Beca's room. She knelt down beside her. "I can go with you…"

"You can't." Beca adamantly replied before Chloe leaned in closer, pressing a kiss on her forehead, on her cheek, and then on her lips before pulling Beca into a hug.

"For as long as I see you later, yeah?" Chloe replied.

"Yeah, you will. Don't worry too much Chlo." Beca replied as she pulled Chloe closer to herself, as close that Chloe could be at the very least.

"I hope you're wrong." Chloe replied in a whisper.

"But Chlo, if I'm right, this will all be over." was Beca's response.

"At what cost though? Can't I be selfish for just this one time?"

"You can be." Beca replied. "But we'll only end up losing if we don't choose to fight." Beca then said before pulling away with a smile on her face. "And I kinda wanna win this time."

Chloe chuckled, shaking off the fears that kept trying to crawl into her heart. She nodded and untangled herself from Beca, before standing up. "Okay." she then said. "Okay." She repeated before slipping out of Beca's hospital room, shooting her one last look before she left.

Beca stayed put for a minute or two, closing her eyes and clearing her thoughts. Somehow, she had the same feeling as she did that day not so long ago.

That day when she saw her life flash right before her eyes.

She took a deep breath and felt a surge of calm as she opened her eyes again. With one thought in mind, Beca wheeled herself towards the door, slid it open, and left her room behind.

And she knew, there was no turning back now.

It wasn't a strange occurrence for Beca to wheel herself to check on Emily since the two became friends. It was one of the ways she gained some sense of autonomy. That's why she decided to do this on her own today of all days. Emily was scheduled for her surgery that evening and Beca wanted to at least wish her the best of luck, cheer her up, and make sure she's calm and all.

"Beca, I was just about to come and see you!" Chicago said as he stepped outside of Emily's room. "Sadly, the young Ms. Junk is asleep. Her doctors said it was best that she's well rested before the surgery."

"No chance on coming to see her then?" Beca replied with a hopeful smile, resting one hand on her lap, the other feeling for something in her pocket. "I was hoping I could spend some time away from my room for a while. I was getting bored."

"I'm afraid so." Chicago said in response as he walked around her, his hands settling on the push handles of Beca's wheelchair. "But if you wouldn't mind my company, perhaps I can show you around the hospital myself and we could both get some air?"

"That sounds good. Thanks." Beca replied before Chicago started pushing her away in her chair, turning around as they headed the opposite side of the hall. Beca then rested her hands on the armrest of her chest, trying to resist the urge to tap nervously as they made their way through the halls.

Chicago droned on and on as they reached the older wing of the floor Emily was on. Apparently, the newer wing was part of the projects he was involved in with the hospital. Beca politely nodded along as she listened to him talk about his work and charitable ventures before turning onto a secluded corner and heading to what looked like a service elevator. Chicago hit the button going up to call for the elevator.

Beca remained silent as he patiently tapped on the handle bars. He smiled as the doors opened and ushered her inside. "Bet you didn't know we have this here?" he then said sounding enthusiastic about it.

Beca took a deep breath and quieted the rapidly beating pace of her heart. She had to keep calm, she can't show any signs of trepidation at all.

Because this was it, this was the day.

And Beca was right.

But to win, she had to pull off this charade until the last possible moment.

"No, I didn't." Beca then replied. "What do they use it for?" she innocently asked.

"Oh, transporting patients mostly, hence the huge space." Chicago replied before the doors of the elevator opened once again.

They stepped off in what looked like a small room with a door in front of them. Chicago wheeled her towards the door, opened it, and led her out onto the hospital rooftop.

"Shame." Chicago then said as they stepped out, standing underneath the small area of cover that lined the outside of the room they have been in. Gray skies filled the skies with light rain pouring form the heavens above. "I was hoping I could show you a pretty sight. It really is nice out here, especially when it's bright and sunny out." he went on as the light rain turned into lighter drizzles.

At least the weather wasn't getting any worse.

"Sounds like you've been here a lot." Beca noted as she continued to make small talk.

"I have." Chicago admitted as she pushed her forward a bit. Beca turned around and watched him lock the door. "Still, a sunny day out would have been a nice final gift."

Beca chuckled nervously. She could feel the blood in her veins turn cold as she heard the words, the sentiments behind them unmistakable.

She was right.

Of course she would be right.

She grasped the armrests on her wheelchair tightly for a minute or two, trying to weigh on her decisions. Timing was everything after all.

She took a deep breath as a silence settled down upon them. Beca turned her attention to her surroundings. The rooftop pretty much bare except for the corners of the room-like hallway that led to the elevators. The door itself wasn't that far from the ledge of the building which was fenced all around.

All except for the area to her left where she assumed a gate used to be was. The sides were all pretty rusted, and based on the peaking slim rods from each side of the bit of step that the fence was set-up on, she could guess that it led to some sort of fire escape.

"I guess that answers the question on how you're going to kill me." Beca then finally said, keeping her eyes set on the gap on the fences.

Chicago clasped his hands loudly as he walked around Beca laughing. "Finally! I was wondering if you would ever remember. I had to admit, that welcoming smile on your face when I visited you the first time you woke up, I knew then that it was true that you lost your memories. But I was hoping you would remember, it just wouldn't be the same if you didn't." said as he stopped, standing right in front of her. "I do admit, you were quite the actress. I can't exactly pinpoint when your memories returned. Mind if I asked?"

Beca took in a slow breath as she tried her best to keep a mask of indifference. She stared straight into Chicago's eyes as she did her best to keep him focused on her own. "When I woke up again." Beca answered truthfully a she rested both her hands on her lap. "Before I lost consciousness, I was talking with Emily, Amy, and Chloe. Chloe, she raised her hand and I pressed mine against hers. It was something she did when we first started talking to each other, not that it matters much to you. But it triggered something in me."

"Oh, what do you mean?" Chicago asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Beca leaned forward, still holding Chicago's gaze as her right hand slowly tried to reach for the phone in her hospital gown pocket. "I was slowly remembering, getting glimpses of my memories one by one but none of it made sense. But in that moment, I remembered the one crucial thing I forgot. The one that tied it all together."

Chicago nodded and walked towards Beca before crouching down to her level. "Would you mind telling me what that is or is it too sacred of a memory?" he then asked.

But before Beca could distract him with a response as her hand finally clutched the phone in her pocket, Chicago quickly reached for her hand to seize the phone. She tried to put up a fight but in her current state, it was easy for him to overpower her. "Now, now, Beca. We've been through this before." he said, snatching the phone from her grasps before standing up and tossing it to the other side of the rooftop, landing with a crash if only to drive home the point that it no matter what Beca does to try to reclaim it would just be wasted effort.

But Beca remained unfazed. This time around she wasn't going to let him rattle her cages.

This time around she knew the enemy. She understood how he worked.

He's already shown her after all.

"Why did you wait?" Beca found herself asking, gaining Chicago's attention once more. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow prompting Beca to repeat her question just as the drizzling stopped. "Why didn't just kill me when you had the chance? You did, right? You told me yourself. You visited me whenever you could."

"I couldn't really visit you at home, and then you and your father moved. Before that you were in a specialized care facility, and even before that, at the hospital. During your time in the hospital, investigations were still ongoing. My choices were limited." Chicago then said. "I do admit, I had plenty of opportunities at the facility you were in but I held back then. It just wasn't fun."

"Fun?" Beca asked him incredulously. "Killing me's a sport to you, isn't it?"

"A sport, a game, call it whatever you want Beca. I explained it to you before,  _The Spider's Thread_ , remember?" he replied. "But then you came along and for the first time I failed to kill someone. There had to be a reason for it, I just knew there had to be. So I decided then to wait. I did what I could to keep a close eye on you while securing myself a position power. It provided me with access to anything I could possibly need."

"The hospital, for example, in case I showed up." Beca then said.

Chicago smiled. "It bought me access to you." he replied, resuming his former position as he crouched down to her level. "Nine years, my dear Beca. Do you have any idea how much anticipation had built up inside of me then? When I saw you awake once more, I didn't know what to expect. I could barely keep my excitement. The longer the wait, the greater the thrill of course. I waited for so long to finish what we've started."

Beca stared simply back, anger in her eyes as she saw the pure joy on his face at the thought of it, at the thought of finally having the chance to kill her again.

How anyone could value human lives as little as he did, Beca would never understand.

All she knew with all certainty was that there was a special place in hell for him.

Chicago chuckled. "Do you know Beca, I didn't kill anyone for the longest of time? I killed possibly one or two others after you, I wanted to see, I wanted to try if anyone could compare to you. But none. No one could ever match the thrill I found when I realized for the first time that there was someone like you trying to outsmart me. No one could compare to the excitement, the rush of trying to outsmart you, outmaneuver you, and outplay you." he said, standing up again.

Beca watched as he turned around briefly to take a few steps away from Beca. He turned to face her left side, looking at the city before him, a smile still gracing his lips. "And now you're here again, providing me a challenge. You ask me, why I didn't kill you then? You look at me disbelief when I say it wasn't fun if it wasn't you. It truly wasn't. Killing anyone else after I met you would have only given me great displeasure Beca, and killing you when you were asleep was just the same."

"So what, you wanted me awake and aware of all of this?" Beca threw back at him.

Chicago turned with a grin. "Where would the challenge be if you're not fighting back?" he asked. "The challenge, the build-up, all of this Beca, it makes me feel alive. No one else could ever make me feel as alive as I am now that I finally face you again. And if I might say, I think I definitely need to thank you a lot. You gave me very little time to prepare for the perfect plan for your death, just like last time."

"When I ruined your plans with Denise?"

"My interest only fell on her because you ruined my chances with my original targets." Chicago replied. "You already knew that Beca." he went on. "This time though, it was like I had to beat a ticking time bomb. You didn't know your enemy then. It could have ended cleanly if you had died. But even in a coma you ruined my plans."

Beca chuckled. "You tried framing either Benji or Tom." she noted connecting the dots.

"See, this is why you're a worthy opponent." Chicago then replied. "But because of your meddling, they had solid alibis that were contradicting with the implanted evidences. See, I was already –"

"Planning to frame Benji for Chloe's would be murder and use him as a patsy for Aubrey and Flo."

"Hmmm, why Ms. Mitchell, how did you know?" Chicago then asked, sounding quite intrigued. "I don't believe I told you that before."

"Just a suspicion. Benji was a loner too, and Tom was a good fallback because he worked for the Applebaum's. You still tried using a patsy then. So who will it be now? Jesse? Or will you frame it just as an accident?"

"Oh no, too risky." Chicago then said, his left hand fishing for something in his pocket. "See, it was my mistake before. I should've come up with something better to kill you. At the very least I should have just drugged you and waited for you to lose consciousness, switch your place to the driver's seat, something like that. Rebellious teenager until the end. Or maybe I still should have killed Denise, then framed you for it. That's why you would have killed yourself, the guilt of what you've done. Like now." he went on saying, brandishing Emily's phone in front of her.

"You monster! What did you do?!" Beca cried out, clutching the armrests of her wheelchair yet again. "She's an innocent kid! She has nothing to do with this!"

"Oh, but she's the perfect victim." Chicago noted as he scrolled through her messages to show Beca the last thing Chicago typed from her phone. "Pity your phone's destroyed but we can just chalk that up to your frustration and guilt for helping a scared little girl who's tired of fighting a disease. When this is done, the doctors will find the drug you slipped her along with your body of course, after committing suicide for helping Emily commit hers. See, that way no one would go looking for any criminals, it would be closed case. With your missing memory, your cold case would remain cold and possibly soon forgotten. Brilliant really, worthy of checkmate against someone like you."

Beca did her best to keep her composure, closing her eyes and clearing her head, wanting to keep her head in the game. This would be the only way to beat him.

_Yes, Mitchell, it's the only way. You knew the risks, you need to trust that everything will pay off._

"What? No final desperate attempt this time?" Chicago then asked.

And that's when Beca found her opening.

Here she thought she'd have to figure out some way to circle back to it.

She opened her eyes and looked back up at him with pure hatred. "What do you mean?" she spat out.

"The last time around you screamed something, it caught my attention, I admit, but decided to let it go then. I was wrong of course. After nine long years I found myself plagued by it." Chicago admitted. "I asked you how. I wanted to know how you ruined all my plans and in one last desperate attempt to save yourself you yelled out that you knew my future."

Beca chuckled. "It wasn't enough to save me then, why would I say that again? I'm not going to plead for you to spare me, we both know that won't do anything."

"True enough, but still, I am quite intrigued. I am careful Beca. And the funny thing is, the only way you could have predicted my every move back then was if you  _did_  know my future. But we both know you're not psychic, so how, Beca? How were you a step ahead of me? How did you know I was coming for Chloe? I reasoned before that you only wanted to take her away from her step-mother but after careful consideration, I'm starting to think you knew I would be coming. You knew I'd come for her in the shed when I had the opening because otherwise I would think that someone your age then would have assumed that the things you've done were enough to keep her safe. That you would relax and depend on established patterns." Chicago replied, and Beca could see his calm unraveling before her. Her coma left him with too many unanswered questions then, things he thought he could live without knowing.

But in truth he couldn't.

No, he most definitely can't.

Not for a smart and careful man like him, cautious in every step. Not for someone as crafty as he was. No one knew his plans, no one would even dare suspect because of the narrative he built around himself.

So, of course it would haunt him, how a sixteen-year-old managed to unravel all his plans, how Beca managed to untangle his web against his three intended preys.

His pride won't be able to handle it.

His ego won't ever forgive him.

Not until he gets an explanation.

"But you hid her in a bus, Beca." he went on to say. "You didn't trust anyone with that information until after the fact. You took her away after you found my items there, after I nearly had the chance to grab her and kill her. And you kept Flo busy. And you befriended Aubrey Posen, someone you shouldn't even know. You knew I was coming for them!" he added, his tone rising a little.

He couldn't take it, no.

That someone could go toe to toe against him.

Beca could barely contain the smirk forming on her lips.  _So I did get under his skin? Good._

"I already told you." Beca then said. Yes, this was it, her opportunity. "I knew your future."

"Don't you suppose that I at least deserve an answer better than that?" Chicago then spat out. "I did give you this elaborate scheme to enjoy before your death."

"This isn't something to enjoy." Beca replied. "Although I'm honored you think I deserve all of this effort." she added, her tone laced with sarcasm.

"What did you mean when you said you knew Beca?" Chicago asked. "No one knows my plans. No one knows my secrets, I've done quite a good job at keeping them. I'm not like those idiots who purposefully left behind vague clues that could lead to them because they want someone to know."

"I already told you." Beca then said, taking a deep breath to keep herself calm. "I meant what I said, I knew your future."

Chicago looked at her curiously as Beca wheeled herself around towards herself, putting a small distance between herself and Chicago. She stopped after turning to face him, her back against the fences. "No, I'm no clairvoyant. I know the future because I lived it." she then said.

Chicago scoffed, fully believing she was lying. But before he could say anything else, Beca spoke up again.

"I lived through you succeeding." Beca said, feeling her heart break at every word she uttered.

The scars just wouldn't heal. It still didn't at least.

Because she could still feel the same kind of pain she did the first time it happened, like a knife jabbing at her heart.

"I lived through you killing Chloe." Beca went on to say, doing her best to keep her voice from shaking. "I lived through you killing Aubrey and Flo too."

Chicago looked at her intently after that as she continued to speak. He looked confused and torn on whether or not he should believe what Beca was saying.

But every word she said had an unmistakable sense of truth them. Just the conviction in her tone, the hatred in her eyes, it was convincing enough to be the truth.

Of course, it was because it was true.

"I lived through you killing my father too. I lived through the same events a second time only to fall short, because guess what? You were right. I thought that I was doing would be enough to keep Chloe safe, but you still showed up in that shed. You still took her and killed her a second time around." she said with pure venom in her tone. She was still very much upset with the thought of it, if the way her voice quivered, the way her body shook as she spoke, was any indication.

"Then I lived through succeeding, close to unmasking you, only for you to nearly kill me." Beca then said.

The smile on Chicago's face was gone. He was only looking at Beca with a mix of anger and confusion.

But that didn't stop her, no.

"See, Mr. Walp, I'm technically twenty-six, not twenty-five at the moment. I've lived through that month or two where you started your killings in our town a good three times now. And you ask me how I stopped you? It's because I knew what you were going to do. Each time I failed, I learned something new." she went on to explain. "I suppose it's thanks to you really, a few years later after what you did the first time around, I discovered I have this nifty little gift. I like to call it a  _Revival._ It sends me back in time, moments before something bad happens so I can correct it, make sure it doesn't happen. For some reason, I almost always pay a price for it. A broken leg, a concussion, this time around I was in a coma."

Beca paused for a minute or two to let that sink in for him. It looked like he was starting to lose patience, the expression on his face still clearly telling Beca he half believed her and half honestly though she was lying.

"That's a pretty tale, Beca, but I believe you lost me at time travel." Chicago then replied.

This time it was Beca who scoffed. "Don't believe me? But it makes sense, doesn't it? That's how I knew how you'd kill each one of your victims. That's how I knew Chloe would be in danger that night of her birthday, and how I knew about Aubrey Posen. That's also why it took long for my memory to return. Because whatever glimpse of memories I had were a complicated mesh of contradictory things. All because I forgot about my Revivals."

"You don't seriously expect me to –" Chicago then said but before he could finish his though, Beca was ready with her response.

"How else could I have stopped your perfect plans then?" she said. "How, tell me?"

Chicago laughed. "I guess I'm never getting any other answer from you. If I'd have to accept it, then I would. It's not going to change anything. Because you've changed the past I'm guessing there's no way to predict the future now." he said, his hand rubbing his temples as he spoke, trying to make sense of what Beca was trying to do with what she had just said. "If you were hoping to stop me by delaying an answer…"

"I'm not." Beca replied, shaking her head. "See, it's because I know you're not going to kill me." she then said knowingly.

Chicago looked at her questioningly. "That's quite a statement to make for someone in a wheelchair. You don't even have the strength to stand let alone fight back, Beca."

But Beca simply shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about Mr. Walp. I'm merely pointing out simple facts." she said, gripping the handrims of her wheels. "You can't kill me. If you do, you won't have any purpose left."

Chicago looked at her speechless and Beca smiled.

She's hit the nail on the head.

"I'm all that makes you feel alive, you kinda said it yourself." she went on to say. "Twisted, I know. But I'm the only thing that kept you going. Killing used to be enough to fill the void in you, but me… see I'm the only one who can fill that now."

Beca gripped the handrims even tighter. The moment she was waiting for, it was closing in on them, and she knew she couldn't hesitate.

If she hesitates, then she truly is dead.

She took a deep breath to calm herself and steady her nerves.

She can't mess this up.

"You even stopped killing because of the dissatisfaction when you realized that without your match, it meant nothing." Beca went on to say as realization dawned upon Chicago, every word she said ringing true. "You want someone like me. So, if you kill me, then what? You waited nine years for me to wake up so that you can just get this thrill again. All of it would be gone the moment you take my life."

Chicago looked at her dumbfounded for a brief minute or two. He cleared his throat and adjusted his tie as he closed his eyes and sighed. He looked like he was trying to find the right words to say in response to what Beca had just claimed to be true.

But he couldn't, he simply couldn't.

Because how on earth do you dispute with something that was indeed true. He opened his eyes again, appraising Beca as he opened his mouth trying to say something, but still, no words would come out.

That was when Beca knew, this was it, the moment she was waiting for.

Before he changed his mind, before he could even react in a way Beca couldn't predict, she had to call his bluff.

Beca took another deep breath.

_Here goes nothing._

Beca wheeled herself backwards with every bit of strength she had towards the gap in the fences behind her, picking up speed as she went on.

Stunned, Chicago found himself running after her, practically diving as the rear wheels of her wheelchair went over the ledge just so he could grab the rod of one of its footsteps.

Both of the rear wheels were hanging over nothing but air, Beca sitting precariously in her chair. One of the Caster wheels tethering over the ledge, the other one still not over it, anchoring Beca with the help of Chicago's own efforts of keeping his grip on the attached footstep.

Beca wasn't going to lie. She was scared.

Feeling the strong pulls of gravity with the awkward way she sat wasn't helping. It was like falling was inevitable, making her body tense up a bit.

Because she knew, if Chicago chose to let go – what, with the angle she was in and with most of her weight hanging onto the wrong side of the ledge – yes, she knew she would fall straight down.

But no, she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing fear in her eyes.

"See," Beca said smugly, pushing through, "I told you, didn't I? You can't live without me. I complete you."

Chicago chuckled, it was clear at that moment that even he believed it to be true.

"I guess you're right." Chicago replied with a somber smile.

Right before letting the wheelchair go.

* * *

The words struck him with truth.

He can't live without her, no matter how twisted it was. The last nine years had been painfully dull without her, the one person who could go toe to toe against him, no matter what the reasoning was.

Because there's no way… time travel…?

That was absurd.

But even in the last moment it would seem that Beca Mitchell still doesn't want to reveal all her cards.

This would perhaps be the one victory she held over him, and Chicago thought that she deserved it, being a worthy opponent and all.

With this last moment of feeling alive he decided he's had enough.

Besides, he had no choice.

Beca remembers. No matter her ramblings, no matter how much Chicago interferes, she remembers. If he sets her up without killing her, she would tell what she knew, which left him with no other move to make.

The die had been cast, and he just had to keep rolling with the tides.

He had to keep her quiet.

To win this little game, he had to kill her.

Even if it meant that his life would come to an end as well.

No, he won't ever live a meaningless life without any satisfaction.

This, though, this would be a satisfying end.

His had a good life, it was meant to end sometime.

So he let his fingers loosen his grip around the rod of the footrest of her wheelchair and let her go.

Easy as that.

Chicago waited for a minute or two until he heard the faint sounds the crash that Beca's wheelchair had made. He stood up from his knees, took a deep breath, and dusted himself off. Above him, he could see the sunlight breaking through the clouds, the storm having passed.

It was a fitting end in its own way.

Chicago took another deep breath before taking a step up on the ledge, ready to jump.

And as he peered down, that was when Chicago found an intriguing sight.

It would seem that Beca Mitchell was indeed a fitting opponent until the very end.

At least that's what he thought as he saw Beca winking at him while laying down on one of those inflatable landing bags.

Next to her in was his former student, Jesse Swanson with some sort of listening device. If he wasn't mistaken, he heard that he was a lawyer now. Behind him was Aubrey Posen, one of his former intended victims, also a lawyer he believes, quite popular with her clean record of cases in that she's pretty much won all of them so far.

Behind them was Dr. Mitchell next to a set up table with what Chicago would assume would be a recording device. He wasn't familiar with the two girls handling the listening equipment but he does recognize the girl behind them, sturdy pair of headphones hanging loosely around her neck, Stacie Conrad. Suddenly it made sense why the girl who claimed that she knew the future got him talking about his plans.

They weren't to stall him.

She let him talk to get a confession out of him.

At the very least for trying to kill her before, for Emily, and for trying to kill her again.

And of course there were the few good number of cars belonging to the police and FBI surrounding them. No lying his way out of this now.

It had been a trap.

A trap for him.

And a good one too.

The spider had finally gotten tangled in his own web.

Chicago laughed as he steps off the ledge, his mind trying to still figure if he could still find a way out of this.

But then he felt the end of a gun pointing at him as he stepped off the ledge, another former student, Cynthia Rose Adams, her detective's badge peeking out from her coat.

And behind her was an equally terrifying FBI agent with her gun ready.

He didn't even hear them enter, had there been hiding there the whole time?

"I suppose Beca has a recording device?" he found himself asking as he resigned to his fate.

"A second phone attached inside the pocket of her gown." Cynthia Rose replied not taking her eyes of him and Chicago let out another chuckle. "The one you destroyed was meant to be a decoy so you don't suspect another one that was already running from the moment you ran into each other. And don't think you can get away with anything, we have cams set up around the perimeter where you were standing. You can't lie your way out of this one Mr. Walp."

Truly worthy opponent indeed.

This really was the end for him.

But Chicago had to admit, he didn't think it would the end for just him alone.

* * *

Jesse was shifting his weight from one foot to another as he watched Cynthia Rose and Lilly take Chicago away.

It was finally all over.

But then again, some questions still plagued his mind. There was a lot to process from the conversation that Beca and Chicago had that he, Ashley, Jessica, and Stacie were listening in. Cynthia Rose and Lilly undoubtedly overheard too.

Really, Jesse just couldn't help but wonder if there was any truth to it. If Beca was going to make any statement, that most definitely wasn't going to be the one she's sticking with, the court will laugh at them.

But something struck a chord in Jesse's mind.

_I'm a superhero,_ he could remember Beca tell him near the stairwell of the science museum many years ago when he asked what's been going on. Beca stepped up from being her usual loner step one January afternoon, and then all of a sudden, she becomes even more uncharacteristically outgoing – in terms of what she wants of course – just as their group of friends caught up with her and Chloe at the museum.

Two times, two changes. Beca's sudden interest in pursuing a friendship in Chloe, and even after that was established, her sudden change in attitude from just talking with the redhead and enjoying each other's company to hugging her and clinging onto Chloe for dear life.

Jesse couldn't help but wonder if those were the moments when Beca came back from a different time or something.

When she came from the future and when she came back to a crucial moment after failing. Why else would she be so insistent on looking for a mystery figure in the dark, jump to conclusions with what they found in the bus after the intruder came, and know the name of Charles Timothy Westin?

Besides, it would also explain why when he asked her before leaving her room during his last visit yesterday to confirm that their plan was already set in motion about how she knew their lives wer in danger back in high school, Beca simply shrugged.

"Really not gonna tell me?" he asked before turning to leave.

"You'll find out in due time." Beca had then replied.

"Does Chloe know?" Jesse had pressed on.

"Of course she does." Beca replied. "She thinks I'm insane. With the plan, I mean, not the reasons on how I knew, although the reasons were hard to both explain and accept so I wouldn't really blame her if she did."

"How come?" he kept asking her.

"Like I told you Jesse, you'll find out soon enough." Beca had insisted.

And it would seem that he's found out what Beca meant.

It fit, it explained everything, no matter how unbelievable it was.

Dr. Mitchell had then ran up to help Beca get down from the inflatable bag, with the help of some agents and officers together with some doctors on standby in case they needed them. Aubrey then left his side to call Flo and Denise to check on their own mission.

Yes, Jesse really didn't know what to think.

Other than the fact that all of this was over because of Beca.

True or not, she saved Chloe, Aubrey, and Flo. She saved Benji, and in a way Tom. Perhaps she also truly saved Dr. Mitchell.

Jesse had to admit, he was nervous about the whole thing. When Beca asked them to come back two nights ago he wasn't expecting they'd be formulating a plan and executing it in haste. He expected that Beca might have remembered something, and she wanted to be in safe company before dispersing the information.

Instead, they found Beca sitting up on her bed that early evening, looking deep at thought. As soon as Cynthia Rose had shut the door Beca immediately said "It's Chicago Walp, I think you know him now a Charles Timothy Westin."

Jesse looked at her in surprise. He had been right, Beca had just confirmed it then.

"Just to be sure, you're telling us Chicago Walp was the one who tried to kill you before, right?" Aubrey had immediately asked as she marched towards Beca's side.

"It was him, it was Chicago. He tried to win over Chloe's trust so that he could target her after noticing her growing isolation and her bruises and figuring out what's happening to her. He was following Aubrey to be his next target, he almost took you the night I first tailed you – don't know if you knew I tailed you by the way, so sorry, I guess – and he was planning to do the same to Flo, but we kept her busy. He was also the one he slipped Denise laxatives during the game so that I'd think she was going to be abducted. He positioned himself so he could continue the charade until I had no choice but ask him to take me on a ride to chase after any possible suspects. He drugged me with my drink at the game and the tea in the car, he tampered with the seat belt, and when I was about to lose consciousness, he stepped out of the car, opened the windows and dropped a ball to the pedal so I'd drown in a frozen lake." Beca replied in great detail. "I remember everything, Posen."

Aubrey nodded then as she processed the information while everyone stood silent as they did the same.

"This is great, Beca, we can get your testimony and…" Jesse had said, trying to keep the ball rolling but Beca shook her head.

"He's gonna try to kill me first." Beca had then said. "You know he's been visiting me, right? I suspect Amy's been your spy. There's a reason why he's been visiting a lot. He's trying to figure out what I know and strike on the perfect time. That's how he works, Jesse. He gains your trust first before blindsiding you when he either kills you or sets you up."

"But Beca, we are building a case." Aubrey had then replied in Jesse's behalf while Jesse struggled to catch up, noting how calm Beca was about all of this.

Because if it had been him, he'd have freaked out by then, done something drastic.

"How long have you known? Your memories, I mean, how long have they returned?" Jesse had asked as a thought had occurred to him.

Beca had smiled back at him. "A few days, since I woke again."

"You're playing the long game, aren't you?" Jesse had then remarked and Beca nodded.

"Shorty, we're dealing with a serious criminal here." Cynthia Rose had then argued, having caught up with Beca's train of thoughts.

"Wait, I feel like I missed something?" Flo had asked then, sounding a bit concerned for Beca. "Besides, Beca, if he was planning to kill you, he would have by now. It could mean that as long as you play along that you still don't have a memory, you're safe. Why is Jesse saying we're playing a game now?"

To which Lilly had simply replied. "Trap."

Beca had once again nodded, Jesse not liking how things were sounding by the minute. He had been with Flo then.

If they build the case and blindside him with Beca's testimony, they keep everyone safe and finally go after their former guidance councilor. They would have had him.

But Beca didn't seem to agree. "I know his M.O, remember?" was the first thing she had said after Flo and Lilly's little exchange. "He's fascinated with me and how I defeated him once, how I managed to thwart his plans without knowing who he was. He didn't kill me back then, when I was in a coma and still in a hospital, because of the investigations still going. If he did, he would have implicated himself. He hasn't killed me now because I bet he's still setting up a plan. He only has a short window since I woke up but my memory loss insured him that no drastic measures were needed. He's involved with the hospital, after all, he would have had access to my records one way or another, and if I was an immediate threat, my money's on him making it look like an accident caused by an incompetent medical staff. Still, that would be too easy. He wouldn't be happy with it."

Jesse could remember how calm she had been then, analytical even in her tone, even as she spoke about her own life.

"Beca, setting a trap for him now would undoubtedly involve you. We're not going to risk you, not after everything! We just got you back!" Jesse had argued back then. "You have to let us catch him in our own way!"

"Yeah, well it's my decision to make." Beca had remarked. "I'm the one he wants. We could wait and twiddle our thumbs while you guys do it your way and build the case, go through the motions of things, but he is in a position of power. He's going to do anything he can to make whatever testimony I make against him look weak and pathetic and untrue."

"I admit, she's got a point. It's why I don't want to go after him without a solid piece of evidence." Aubrey had then added, her own silent way of agreeing.

"But Beca…" Flo had tried to plead with her but Beca shook her head.

"We need him to confess." Beca had said then, a simple truth.

"We can do it in this room, bug it and then storm in..." Cynthia Rose had then said, her own way of saying she was in on the plan too.

"No, too easy. Almost too easy that I'm sure he's expecting it." Beca had then argued as soon as Cynthia Rose started to make the point. "He won't do easy. That's not him. He'll make an intricate plan. He'll set someone up to take the fall, but the thing is, the only logical choices would be you guys, and he hasn't had access to you guys in a while. It'll be suspicious if he reaches out to you know and he hasn't had time to establish connections with anyone else connected to me to frame up. Amy's been very wary of him too, he'll need someone trusting and the only person to fit that role is Emily. But Emily's sick, and it would be hard to set up a cancer patient for killing me, at least, harder compared to setting me up to kill Emily."

"Wait… wait, you don't mean…" Flo had then said, interrupting Beca's train of thoughts.

"He's developed an interest in her. He wants to kill me, and he'd want to do it without raising suspicions or reopening my old case. He wouldn't want someone looking into who it could have been, if it was connected to my past or anything. He'd want to put the blame on someone as far away from himself as possible, and who better but the real victim? Emily would be collateral damage to get to me if we don't do anything to stop him. He's done it before, multiple times over, I bet." she had said knowingly.

Cynthia Rose chuckled upon hearing Beca's deductions, and Jesse had to admit he was as impressed remembering it now as he was when he first heard it himself too. "Ever thought of being a detective, shorty?"

"I really hope this is the last time I get to play the role." Beca had then replied with a chuckle of her own.

"So to catch him, we need to save your hospital friend?" Aubrey had then asked, getting back to the main topic at hand.

"Yes, and I can bet to you now he'll try to frame her death on me and make mine look like a suicide out of guilt or something. Which leads me to two things, Flo. One, will you keep an eye on Emily? Run tests on the regular, be quick about things. She's got IV meds and stuff and he might use that to kill her like how he slipped something in my drink to drug me. Or he might actually pull of the same thing he did with me and spike her drink or food or something. We have to be quick to save her life." Beca had then went on.

"Of course I will. I'll pull Denise on it and figure out a way for everyone else in her floor to help out." Flo had immediately replied.

"Between me and Lilly, I think we can also gather a group of our trusted colleagues to help us and ensure that the hospital staff complies with watching Emily carefully." Cynthia Rose had then added.

"I think I can help on that front too, with my own connections." Aubrey had then said before getting the ball rolling. "When do we need to get ready?"

"In two days. That's the day of Emily's surgery. I think that might be the best time for him. Which brings me to item number two, Flo. Sorry to put you in a spot here, but do you have any idea where he might fake my suicide?" Beca had then asked, her tone unwavering, not even in the slightest.

"You're pretty level headed about all of this." Aubrey had then commented and Beca simply shrugged.

"I had years of practice." had been her reply.

And true enough that's how she remained the rest of the time of their visit as they laid down an intricate plot to stop Chicago Walp once and for all.

Not individually, but together this time.

"You don't think…" Stacie then said, walking up towards him and taking him back to the present moment. Jesse took his eyes away from Beca and turned to face one of his best friends. Stacie had a look of confusion on her face for a minute or two. "Why do I have a feeling she was telling the truth?"

"Probably because she was." Jesse then found himself saying.

"Yeah, well, we better make an excuse for it." Ashley then said as she and Jessica joined them, handing over the equipment to the actual authorities, multiple copies of the recording made in case Chicago tries to pull something and bribe any of the officers. "We at least have to convince the authorities we made Beca lie or something to get a rise out of Westin, Walp, whatever." she added in a low tone.

"Ah, so you believe her?" Jessica then chimed in. "I do too. It explains how she already knew us."

"Ugh, but what do we tell Bree?" Stacie then asked rubbing the side of her temples. "She's not gonna buy any of this. We at least have to give her the heads up…" Stacie then said before Jessica tapped her on her shoulder and pointed at Aubrey already listening to the recording.

"Well, good luck Conrad." Ashley then said.

"What do you mean?" Stacie asked.

"Oh, we're not explaining anything to your girlfriend. She's yours to deal with." Jessica replied

Stacie sighed and walked over to Aubrey to check in on her just in time for Jesse to watch Flo running over them. "Mission accomplished guys! I left Denise to keep an eye on Emily for a while, looks like our evil guardian councilman slipped her some kind of drug that would have reacted with her meds. Her doctors already administered counter measures and she's stable but to be sure, they decided to move Emily's surgery for a few days. They've also called her parents and explained everything the best they could."

"Good job Flo." Ashley replied. "You make me feel safe to know you'll be a doctor someday. Is suppose we can help in explaining to her parents and pull in Lilly and CR to help when they're free."

"Sure thing." Jessica then said. "Oh, and how's Chloe?" she asked and right on cue they saw Chloe running out and straight towards Beca to check on her.

"Clearly, right behind me." Flo then said with a chuckle. "She checked in on Emily too."

Jesse nodded and watched as the two reunited, Chloe falling down to her knees and wrapping Beca in an embrace just after she got settled in her new wheelchair.

"They really love each other, huh?" Flo noted.

And Jesse smiled but before he could comment, Aubrey came marching right next to him.

"Tell me, Swanson, do you believe all of it?" she asked, arms crossed against her chest with her brows knitted together as she stared at Beca.

"What other explanation could you give then?" he replied, throwing the question back at her. "Besides, what's up with that? Believe Beca? Asking to believe someone is such a strange question, it's like asking if you believe in air. It's like to believe something, you have to hope that it indeed is true." he then went on. "Truth be told, I don't know what to believe in, but we're here now and things happened the way they did. Honestly Posen, I'm just happy that justice finally got justice served."

* * *

"Okay, midget, it's just you, me, Jesse, Stacie, and Chloe in your room now." Aubrey started, pointing the obvious. It had been a long day, and Beca ended up having to talk to police officials and FBI agents alike for a little while before both Aubrey and Jesse stepped up and insisted she was too tired from what had just been through to make any official statements at the moment. For the most part, her friends handled the rest of Chicago's arrest, which allowed her to time to rest.

Although technically speaking most of her resting period was spent with each and every one of her doctors checking up on her making sure she was okay.

It was actually the first time since that morning since she finally found herself back in her room and with only a few of her friends left.

"What you told Chicago in the recording?" Aubrey pressed on.

"Was a lie." Beca replied. She knew this would be coming, and she's thought long and hard about what to say about the matter since she started forming rudimentary sketches of a plan in that head of hers. "I said something to get a rise out of him, something he wouldn't expect. I didn't want him to suspect anything else so I went with the most farfetched thing I could say to throw him off. Truth is, I only started getting worried about Chloe when we found the bag of rope, tape, and freezing solution in the bus."

"And about Benji? Me and Flo?" Aubrey pressed on.

Beca eyed Chloe who was sitting on the foot on her bed. She simply smiled in return as a form of support. Jesse stood behind Aubrey looking rather thoughtful while Stacie sat down the chair next to Beca's bed, sporting the same look.

Beca took a deep breath and went on. "I did some digging and hypothesized that the freezing solution would be used to speed up freezing someone, so if a criminal was out there smart enough to put the blame on someone, it would have to be on Benji who was the son of someone who had a food services company and therefore have cold storage units. It would be harder to find a body there. Granted it's pure conjecture, I just decided to go with it. I figured Tom would also be a good suspect if Chloe was a victim. I heard about you from random people I end up running with in town who went to her school, I caught a glimpse of her being alone one day and decided to ask Benji, who tries to befriend loners and push them to make friends, about her. I thought it would be a nice thing to do to befriend you if there was a kidnapper on the loose. As for Flo, I realized she was also being left by her lonesome for a good chunk of time, as her friend I was worried about her and simply assumed that whoever it was would target her.

"And Chloe? The brief mention of Tom?" Aubrey asked, doing her best to intimidate her.

"My focus was to help Chloe escape her step-mom's abuse after I noticed the bruises. I was annoyed with myself because there she was, the girl I liked who always tried to reach out to me before, and she was going through something tough all by herself. The discovery of the bag made me worried that Chloe would be a perfect target. It's my concern or her that got me started in digging around. I found some random clippings from other towns nearby of similar incidents and that's where I based my random guesses, that is, under the assumption that the bad guy was copying someone else's tactics, since the alleged criminal has been apprehended in those cases. But I guessed that setting someone up could also be a possibility because it kept happening. My guess on Tom was purely based on the fact that he was Chloe's ex-boyfriend."

"And Denise?" Aubrey went on.

"Cynthia Rose pointed out the fact that she was being isolated and ignored by her old friends. I was worried about her. I didn't suspect it would be Mr. Walp, I thought it was someone else. He made it seem that someone had abducted her when I ran into him. I didn't know it was all a trap he laid out for me because he realized I was messing up his plans. I was just being precautious then, I didn't think I'd come face to face with the real criminal."

Aubrey took a deep breath and sighed after listening to Beca's responses. "And that's your official statement?"

"Yes. Yes it is." Beca replied.

"If I cross examine you now, tomorrow, and the coming days, that story's not gonna change?"

"It's engraved in my mind and heart." Beca replied with great certainty, because no, she wasn't going to mess it up.

Aubrey nodded, accepting her answer before relaxing a bit. "And the truth, Mitchell?"

Beca smiled. "You already know the truth, Posen. It's not going to change."

"I don't mean your official statement." Aubrey clarified.

"I know." Beca then said. "I wish I could give you a more proper explanation but I don't exactly know how everything works." she replied truthfully.

And Aubrey simply nodded in response, eying her a bit suspiciously but nevertheless accepted that as an answer.

Soon enough, she left with Stacie and Jesse, letting Beca finally have the chance to rest.

Chloe lingered by the door as she shut it close after them. "You didn't, you know… have another one, did you?" she asked Beca with uncertainty before turning to face her.

"A Revival? No, what made you ask?"

"Just wanted to make sure you didn't nearly die and travelled back with this plan in mind because you already knew what he was up to." Chloe then said as she made her way towards Beca.

Beca smiled and shook her head. "Nah, I just learned from my mistakes. Besides, that's not how it ever worked. I got them when I needed to save someone else, never myself. Otherwise, I think I could have triggered it in the car back then, somehow."

"Have you had another one since then?" she asked innocently as she sat down next to Beca on the bed, facing her.

Beca shook her head, scooting over to one side as she invited Chloe to sit next to her.

"So what now then, Mitchell? What's the plan? You missed college even after just coming around to it. You never finished high school either. And you've spent a good amount of time of your early twenties in a coma."

"Are you trying to start envisioning our future together?" Beca asked with a chuckle.

"It's what you fought so hard for. Of course I am." Chloe replied, holding Beca's hand and lacing their fingers together.

Beca sat thoughtfully for a minute, remembering what Theo, that music producer guy she met in her first timeline.

He asked her to dig deeper, something Beca had been so afraid to do then because she didn't want to open the old wounds that never healed properly. She lost and failed a lot of the people around her that she wanted to get to know and who already mattered. It was what was stopping her from putting who she was in her work. But now, well, Beca understood that the people she lost before were those missing pieces in her work.

Her relationship with her father never improved it was always strained and in the end Beca lost him.

She never formed the strong friendships she could have and she missed out on it too.

That she lost two of her friends and it kept her from forming new ones because she felt helpless, because she felt she wasn't good enough.

That she could have missed out on making one feisty one and others more

But most of all, that Chloe was that missing piece in her life, because Beca had been afraid of what she had felt for her then and buried it deep inside of her.

Now Beca knew the missing pieces of her were in their in the people who mattered to her just like how they all had a missing piece of themselves when they almost lost her.

Because the heart, it's like a puzzle. We give a small piece of our hearts to the people we love and in turn they do the same, that's why it hurts so much when we lose them. Because we lose a piece of our heart.

Beca smiled. "I think my Revivals in the past, they were all to prepare me for this, so I'm hoping we can retire form the injuries." she then found herself saying, leaning on Chloe and placing her head on her shoulders, making Chloe chuckle.

"I do hope so. I won't accept another coma status. I already told you that." she replied, pressing a kiss on her forehead.

"So how about this? Maybe I chase after my dreams now in full vigor, work hard at therapy, reach the impossible and all?"

"That sounds good." Chloe agreed.

"Perfect then." Beca replied, fully relaxing the first time that incredibly long day. "For as long as you're here with me, as long as we're together, I think we can handle everything. Because I think this time we finally got it right. This time I think I can finally find myself in the music where I try to lose who I am. This time I feel it in my heart and soul instead of just escape from my mind."

"What on earth are you saying now, Beca?" Chloe asked amused.

Beca smiled, and huddled even closer to her, closing her tired eyes as Chloe wrapped her arms around her.

"I think I can do everything now… Because of all of you being here with me…" Beca went on to say as she struggled to stifle a yawn. "Especially because of you."

And Beca found herself smiling even in her sleep, because she knew the indisputable truth.

She's finally found what she was looking for.

She's found her home.

She's fought hard to keep it.

And now she has in her hands a bright future ahead of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who still needs a defib? Raise your hands please! I'll try and send help.
> 
> Anyways, I did let things settle down and dealt with most of the heart-stopping events in the first half to wind down for the epilogue in the second half :3
> 
> UPNEXT: A cute epilogue to end this tale! (Will hopefully be up by tomorrow ;D)


	25. Treasure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three years after she woke up from her coma, Beca reflects on the crazy life she's had and the events she had to go through due to her last Revival...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for sticking with me through the adventure of this fic! Here's the epilogue. Hope you enjoy!

"This… this is amazing Beca." Theo said just after listening to the latest work Beca produced for their current artist. "It's just absolutely brilliant! You have no idea how happy I am when I hear a new single from your gifted hands."

Beca smirked, she would be lying to herself if she said she didn't keep a tally of the number of times Theo had praised her work without being followed with the words 'but' or 'however'.

What, with her sort of kinda past life experience and all.

"But…" Theo then said and Beca sighed.

Here she thought she could have had a clean slate.

"But?" Beca then pressed on, curious at what it could be.

"But I have to admit, I'm sad you're leaving us soon." he then noted and Beca nodded.

It's been three years since she got out of the hospital, waking from her coma and catching her would be killer and all.

Three amazing years where Beca worked for the music label that Theo works for.

If there was one thing Beca was happy to have remembered from that other life, that other time, it would be his contact information. As soon as she got out of the hospital, Beca made Chloe-inspired mixes of their favorite songs and sent it to an unsuspecting Theo. With her connections, aka Lilly's amazing and undoubtedly illegal use of skills, she managed to make sure he got it.

The call came in three days later, asking for a meeting.

And it was a done deal.

It wasn't all that easy though. The last three years was spent hard at work, learning the ropes of the industry, the annoying backdoor politics, extending patience for difficult artists, and mastering her craft.

What Chloe said was true, though, the world had gone on too long without her musical genius. And as soon as Beca stepped into the scene, it didn't take long for big name artists to come clamoring to work with her.

"I just, I feel like you have a gift, you know?" Theo then went on. "I knew form the moment I heard your mixes. Every beat, it speaks true to who you are. The rhythm, the tempo, it captures how you feel for the moment, what emotions you put into the work, and it always makes you wonder who it is you're thinking of. You get to reach people with music, and it's amazing Beca. You also push it out of the artists, the emotions that they want to incorporate to a piece, the imagery and feelings they want to evoke. Everything you, it's definitely got the magical Beca Mitchell touch. We're gonna miss you."

Beca shrugged with a humble smile. "Thanks." she replied.

"I really can't convince you to push off starting your own label company, can I? Or you know, maybe stay here a little longer while you work behind the scenes for that one?"

"Tempting, but I create music not for the money." Beca replied. "Besides, I do like spending some time with the people I love too. I love the work I do and all, but I feel like I've wasted a good amount of my life not making memories with the people who ware most important to me."

"Fair enough." Theo replied, conceding. "But, you have to promise to be there when we celebrate the album launch! This is your last one with us."

Beca chuckled. "I will. I'm only going for a few days on weekend trip. I still have a few months left with you guys." she replied before checking the time on her watch. "And on that note, gotta go. I've got a dinner and all."

Theo nodded. "See you around Mitchell." he replied with a proud smile as Beca left, the last three years still on her mind.

It's been rather quiet in some ways. No, she hasn't had an episode of her Revival since she woke up from her coma. Chicago's been in sentenced with a few life sentences, Aubrey commenting on how happy she was that murder doesn't have a statute of limitation in the country. He confessed to all the crimes that Aubrey and Jesse presented against him, admitting to even a few others that they never found out. Why he did that – confessing and all – Beca wasn't sure of. Jesse visited him once, trying to get answers but he only kept muttering that Beca was still alive which meant he still had a reason to live, that in itself was enough.

But Beca hasn't put much thought about it. He's still very much in prison, maximum security and all, so she's decided to focus on living her life for now.

A life with her friends and family.

Because yes, she's still hanging out with her friends on a daily basis, for as much as they could that is as some days are busy. That said they have this standing Thursday night dinners at the pizza place that Amy's boyfriend's family owns.

Amy would always be on top of her antics, her boyfriend, Bumper, too.

Aubrey and Jesse would always vaguely bicker about a point in some case they had.

Stacie would always calm her girlfriend down. Sometimes she'd excitedly talk about the latest news on the science and technology front. She never talks about the projects she works on but if there's something noteworthy, she brings it up.

Flo and Denise would share tales of misadventures in the hospital. Having been a patient for a good long while, Beca would hear news every now and then about her favorite nurses, residents turned fellows, and staffers.

Emily would always drive into the city to join them too. She's currently a student at Barden – for some weird reason that was a common factor among her friends – and she'd talk about tales regarding this acapella team she's joined.

Lilly would sometimes be gone, depending on if she's working on a tough case or assignment, but she would usually skype in. She doesn't say much, but at least they still feel her presence.

Ashley and Jessica would talk about the week they've been having at their own little private investigation practice. Jessica still works as a freelance journalist, but the two do have a knack for it. Cynthia Rose would often help them out along with Lilly. In return, the two would help Cynthia Rose out with some of the cold cases she's still trying to crack.

Jessica's dad was also out of prison, his name cleared just in time. In honor of Ashley's dad, he and Beca's own father would sometimes help the girls out.

Speaking of, her father was back to his usual swing of things with the teasing and constant exchange of witticism with Beca. Dinner was mandatory at his place every night – with Chloe of course – except for the Thursday nights at the pizza place and her Friday night dates with Chloe.

Yeah, a lot has happened the last three years.

It's been busy, and hectic, but fun. Really, it's all about the balance.

Sure, she's lost some years with her friends, but that nine years spent in a coma wasn't really much of a curse to bear. She's lived through those nine years before.

Whether or not they were dull doesn't matter either.

Those nine years were her treasure.

They were the price she had to pay to get to live the present that she had now.

Beca smiled before taking a deep breath, finally reaching the pizza place, her friends already gathering inside. As she reached for the door, her hands met someone else's. Beca chuckled as she saw Chloe shaking her head, laughing a bit.

Yeah, those nine years might have been lost.

But it made the moments she lived now even more precious than anything else.

"I can't believe we haven't found time to come here since I woke up." Beca found herself saying two days later. They got to the hotel in town late in the afternoon the day before. The plan was that she and Chloe decided to just go around and visit old places they frequented when they were in high school, or the ones that held the most meaning to them.

Friday was spent walking around town, dropping by familiar locales, the old café where they used to study before walking Chloe home, the lighthouse and the old hideout where her friends hung out, and of course the playground where Beca made her promise to Chloe to never lie to her.

They walked pass both their old homes, reminiscing their old walks together as toured their old neighborhood, hand in hand like they did before.

They also visited Luke back in their old high school, catching him just in time before leaving for the day. His jaw nearly dropped to the floor as he rushed towards Beca for a hug. Granted, a bit an overreaction – or so Beca claimed – for a teacher seeing a past student, but given that Beca escaped death, woke up from a nine year coma, and Luke has heard how successful she's been in the last three years, it was kind of expected.

Was she given a hard time for not visiting any sooner? Yes, yes she was.

But Luke was juts genuinely happy to see her alive and well, showing her a plaque with her name on it outside the music room. They wanted to place it somewhere else that would be more visible, but at the time, Luke insisted that since music was practically the one class she loved, then the music room should have it.

"We wanted to remember your bravery one way or another Beca." he said with a smile.

Did they talk about Chicago? Briefly, mostly that Luke was partly mad at himself for not even suspecting him. But they dropped the topic as soon as it was brought up.

They also visited Benji who just got back from his trip to Asia. He practically jumped in joy when he saw Beca, and rushed towards her, very much like Luke.

But that was their jam-packed yesterday.

Today was spent visiting the ski resort Beca took Chloe too that first Saturday she tried to get her out of the house, Chloe insisting they visit their tree.

"But it's not Christmas yet Chlo." Beca joked back when they were planning their trip.

"So? You did the same thing back then. We have to see it Beca!" she had insisted.

Thus, why they were walking through the woods within the resort's area to find it in the middle of the afternoon, chatting about their plans to see the science museum tomorrow.

Chloe pouted in the adorable way she does once they reached the clearing, briefly parting from Beca as she walked on ahead, stopping at the place where she once stood during their first visit. Beca ran after her, stopping only when she was once again by her side. "I guess it's only sparkly and magical when it has icicles hanging on the branches and there are plenty of stars in the sky." she then said, reaching for Beca's hand.

And Beca really couldn't help but agree. The sun was still out, and it was the early days of a slightly warm fall. The tree barely had leaves of color but nothing else that gave it some magical winter wonderland feel.

"Here I thought I could replicate the moment." Chloe then said with a sheepish smile.

Beca laughed in response, as she laced their fingers together, their hands entwined. She leaned over to place a kiss on Chloe's cheeks. "It's still our tree though." she replied. "Maybe we should come back here this Christmas." she went on, a thought having occurred to her.

Something she would once consider to be an impossible dream.

"That sounds like a brilliant idea." Chloe replied beaming.

And what else could Beca do but repay the smile with her own.

There used to be a time when she never thought she'd ever find happiness like this, her mind stuck in the past with her regrets. Beca knew she was lucky, she was given a chance to right them. Not everyone has that.

If anything, it made her learn a valuable lesson. She can regret the past as much as she wants, but it's in the now that she can make a difference.

If there was something she wanted, something she was chasing after, no matter how difficult, she can't give up the fight.

She didn't give up in trying to save Chloe and her friends despite the odds. She stood up each time she fell, and tried again after she failed no matter how bruised, broken, or bleeding she was.

She learned from her mistakes, she shouldered all the injuries that came her way and graciously accepted them.

And she kept moving forward, fighting.

That's why she kept promising to herself that no matter how hard it was, no matter the obstacles, she'll keep fighting.

Didn't some author once say that if you keep moving forward, eventually, the world smiles back at you?

Besides, the future is always blank.

And only your willpower can leave footsteps behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! That is it for this story! Thanks for tuning in.
> 
> Like I said in one of the last updates, I'll be taking a month or so to focus on work stuff then I'll be back to updating 'A Twist in the Story' (my last unfinished fic) regularly.
> 
> Thanks for the patience!
> 
> For now, it's the HypersomniacGrad signing out ;)


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